OUR  JUNIOR 
DEPARTMENT 


JEANNETTE  A,  MS  KAUGHTON 


;^> 


>VrOFPR%f)j 


JAN  18  1929 


^ 


BV  1546  .M36  1921 
McNaughton,  Jeannette  A 
Our  junior  department 


JUDSON  TRAINING  MANUALS 

FOR  THE  SCHOOL  OF  THE  CHURCH 


EDITED  BY 

W.  EDWARD  RAFFETY,  Ph.  D. 

HENRY  EDWARD  TRALLE.  Th.  D. 

WILLIAM  E.  CHALMERS,  D.  D. 


OUR     JUNIOR 
DEPARTMENT 


.^^^-i  OF  P«/iVCf)> 
JAN  18  1929 

Logical  stw^ 


By 


JEANNETTE  A.  McNAUGHTON 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE    JUDSON    PRESS 

BOSTON  CHICAGO  ST.  LOUIS  LOS  ANGELES 

KANSAS  CITY  SEATTLE  TORONTO 


COPYRIGHT,    1921,   BY 

GILBERT  N.  BRINK,  Secretary 


J»WNTED  IN  U.  S,  A, 


DEDICATED 

TO 

MY  MANY  STUDENTS 

IN    JUNIOR    PRINCIPLE   AND    PRACTICE 
IN    COMMUNITY   TRAINING   CLASSES 


EDITORS'  FOREWORD 

This  volume  is  one  in  a  series  of  texts  in  religious 
education  known  as  the  Judson  Training  Manuals  for 
the  School  of  the  Church. 

These  manuals  are  arranged  in  three  groups,  namely, 
general,  departmental,  and  pa  rent -training.  The  general 
group  includes  vital  teaching,  story-telling,  educational 
evangelism,  expression  through  worship,  handwork, 
community  service,  appreciation  of  the  Bible,  educa- 
tional leadership,  and  kindred  worth-while  themes  in 
the  field  of  religious  education.  The  departmental  group 
covers  courses  for  every  department  of  the  school  of 
the  church — Cradle  Roll,  Beginners',  Primary,  Junior, 
etc.  The  parent-training  manuals  enphasize  religion  in 
the  home  and  the  necessity  of  training  for  the  God- 
given,  heaven-blessed  privilege  of  parenthood. 

It  is  the  aim  of  these  manuals  to  popularize  the  as- 
sured results  of  the  best  psychology  and  pedagogy  and 
to  make  them  the  willing  and  efficient  servants  of  all 
workers  in  the  school  of  the  church. 

Both  the  editors  and  the  writers  want  these  books 
"  to  live  where  the  people  live  "  and  to  be  of  real  value 
to  those  forward-looking  folk  destined  to  be  the  leaders 
in  religious  education. 


Editors^  Foreivord 


To  this  end,  each  course  will  be  (1)  simple  in  lan- 
guage, (2)  accurate  in  statement,  (3)  sound  in  psy- 
chology, (4)  vital  in  pedagogy,  (5)  concrete  in  treat- 
ment, (6)  practical  in  purpose,  and  (7)  spiritual  in 
tone. 

Mrs.  J.  F.  McNaughton,  the  author  of  this  manual, 
**  Our  Junior  Department,"  has  given  us  the  most  read- 
able book  on  Junior  vv^ork  that  has  been  produced. 
She  has  put  into  story  form  the  best  Junior  theory 
and  practice,  writh  several  added  pages  of  didactic 
material  in  each  chapter. 

Mrs.  McNaughton's  background  of  public-school 
experience,  her  success  in  building  up  and  conducting 
a  large  Junior  Department  in  her  own  church,  and  her 
experience  as  a  teacher  of  Junior  work  in  the  Kansas 
City  training-schools  of  religious  education  have  de- 
veloped in  her  exceptional  qualifications  for  the  writ- 
ing of  this  helpful  book  for  Junior  workers. 

This  manual  is  usable  as  a  text-book  in  church  and 
community  training-classes  and  also  for  supplemental 
and  private  reading.  The  beginner  in  Junior  work 
will  find  it  to  be  especially  suggestive. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Organization  and  Management 11 

II.  The  Junior  Conference 24 

III.  Finding  Good  Teachers   36 

IV.  How  to  Teach  Juniors 45 

V.  Teaching  Missions  to  Juniors 54 

VI.  Week-Day  Activities  62 

VII.  Making  the  Most  of  Records  70 

VIII.  Promotions  in  the  Junior  Department 79 

IX.  The  Small  Department 90 

X.  Junior  Rooms  and  Equipment 100 


CHAPTER  I 
ORGANIZATION  AND  MANAGEMENT 

As  Mrs.  Richards  came  in  through  the  doorway  of 
the  church,  one  beautiful  Sunday  morning  in  June,  she 
was  greeted  by  the  general  superintendent  of  the  Sun- 
day school.  "  Good  morning,  Mrs.  Richards,  I  am 
glad  you  came  early  this  morning.  I  want  to  talk  to 
you.  We  want  you  to  be  Junior  superintendent  of 
our  Sunday  school." 

"  Why,  Mr.  Perry,"  she  said,  "  I  have  had  no  experi- 
ence whatever  as  a  superintendent,  and  I  do  not  see 
how  I  could  do  it." 

"  We  know  your  lack  of  experience,  Mrs.  Richards, 
but  we  know  also  of  your  good  work  as  a  teacher  in 
this  school,  and  that  you  have  many  qualifications  of  a 
good  departmental  superintendent.  We  must  have  a 
superintendent  for  the  Junior  Department  who  is  a 
willing,  progressive  worker,  and  who  will  cooperate 
with  the  teachers  and  the  other  officers  of  the  school — 
one  with  executive  ability  and  with  a  vision  of  the 
possibilities  of  the  Junior  boys  and  girls.  After  care- 
ful consideration,  we  have  decided  that  you  are  the  one 
for  this  work." 

"  Very  well,  Mr.  Perry,"  said  Mrs.  Richards,  "  if  you 
feel  that  way  about  it,  I  might  try.  When  shall  I  be- 
gin the  work  ?  "  "  Next  Sunday  morning,  Mrs.  Rich- 
ards.    We  shall  find  someone  else  to  teach  the  class 

11 


12  Our  Junior  Department 

you  are  giving  up."     "  Very  well,  I  shall  try  to  do  my 
best." 

MAKING  A  BAD  BEGINNING 

The  following  Sunday  morning  found  Mrs.  Rich- 
ards in  her  new  place  in  the  Junior  Department.  The 
Junior  room  was  twenty-four  feet  by  forty-two  feet  in 
size,  and  was  very  well  lighted  and  ventilated.  On 
one  side,  near  the  center  of  the  room,  stood  an  old 
dilapidated  organ,  discarded  from  some  parlor  and 
donated  by  the  owner.  Near  the  organ  stood  an  old 
kitchen-table,  on  which  was  an  accumulation  of  old 
papers  and  books.  A  dozen  smaller  folding-tables, 
surrounded  by  chairs,  were  scattered  promiscuously 
around  the  room. 

Soon  the  boys  and  girls  began  to  arrive.  And  they 
came  noisily.  They  came  scuffling  about  and  talking 
loudly.  Promptly  at  nine  forty-five  Mrs.  Richards 
tapped  the  call-bell  she  found  on  the  table  to  call  the 
department  to  order. 

During  the  week  she  had  carefully  prepared  a  pro- 
gram for  the  opening  service.  As  soon  as  the  bell 
rang  everyone  in  the  room  was  quiet,  and  seventy-five 
pairs  of  eyes  were  looking  at  her.  She  felt  encour- 
aged, for  she  did  not  know  that  this  attention  was 
merely  curiosity  regarding  the  new  superintendent. 

So  she  announced  a  familiar  song,  and  Miss  Black- 
well,  the  organist,  seated  herself  in  front  of  the  instru- 
ment. One  pedal  of  the  organ  was  broken.  The 
organist  tried  with  the  one  good  pedal  to  fill  the  bel- 
lows with  air,  while  the  sound  of  the  leaking  bellows, 
gasping  and  struggling  for  breath,  particularly  notice- 


Organization  and  Management 


able  in  the  quiet  of  the  moment,  soon  drew  the  atten- 
tion of  the  boys  and  girls  from  Mrs.  Richards  to  the 
ridiculous  plight  of  the  organ,  and  the  superintendent 
noticed  the  sly  winks  and  suppressed  giggles  of  the 
pupils.  When  Miss  Blackwell  had  played  the  intro- 
duction, Mrs.  Richards  gave  the  signal  for  all  to  sing, 
but  the  giggles  had  started,  the  attention  once  gained 
was  lost,  and  poor  Mrs,  Richards  found  herself  unable 
to  regain  it  for  any  part  of  the  service. 

Feeling  that  her  opening  service  was  a  complete 
failure,  she  gave  the  signal  for  classes,  thinking  that 
order  might  be  regained  by  the  teachers.  Again  she 
was  doomed  to  disappointment.  Each  class  tried,  ap- 
parently, to  make  more  noise  than  the  others — chairs 
were  pushed  back  and  forth,  there  was  constant  shuf- 
fling of  feet,  books  were  dropping  upon  the  floor,  and 
presently  paper  wads  began  to  fly  about  the  room. 
The  teachers  were  scolding  and  demanding  order,  but 
they  were  helpless. 

At  the  close  of  the  lesson  period  Mrs.  Richards 
tried  to  carry  out  her  program,  but  the  pupils  seemed 
to  consider  the  closing  service  merely  as  a  preparation- 
time  for  going  home,  and  were  gathering  up  papers 
and  books,  putting  on  wraps,  etc.  Not  a  half  dozen 
people  in  the  room  heard  a  word  of  the  closing  prayer. 
After  the  children  had  noisily  left  the  room  Mrs.  Rich- 
ards sat  down  to  think. 

"  Dear,  dear !  "  she  said,  "  this  will  never,  never  do ! 
Where  shall  I  begin  first?  Here  are  seventy-five  boys 
and  girls  coming  into  God's  house  every  Sunday 
morning,  and  for  what  purpose  ?  Surely  nothing  was 
accomplished  in  the  study  of  God's  Word  this  morn- 


14  Our  Junior  Department 

hig,  with  all  the  confusion  we  had,  and  God  holds  us 
responsible  for  the  teaching  of  the  children.  Here  is 
a  wonderful  chance  for  service,  and  I  do  not  know 
how  to  measure  up  to  the  opportunity." 

With  a  prayer  for  guidance,  she  decided  then  and 
there  to  make  a  thorough  study  of  Junior  work,  that 
she  might  be  able  to  meet  to  the  fullest  extent  possible 
the  needs  of  these  boys  and  girls.  She  said,  "  I  must 
learn  how  the  best  Junior  superintendents  accomplish 
their  work,  and  must  learn  how  best  to  organize  and 
conduct  my  department." 

LEARNING  FROM  OTHERS 

Mrs.  Richards  found  the  general  superintendent  and 
said  to  him :  "  Mr.  Perry,  isn't  there  a  book  I  can  read 
that  will  tell  me  how  to  conduct  a  Junior  Department? 
I  made  a  wretched  failure  today,  and  I  must  have 
some  help,  and  must  have  it  quickly." 

Mr.  Perry  said :  "  I  attended  a  Sunday  school  con- 
vention a  few  weeks  ago,  and  I  got  a  list  of  books 
that  were  recommended  for  Sunday  school  workers. 
One  of  them  is  a  Junior  book,  and  I  shall  see  that  it 
is  purchased  for  the  Sunday  school  library,  and  that 
you  get  it  this  week.  If  I  can  help  in  any  way,  do  not 
hesitate  to  let  me  know."  **  Thank  you,  Mr.  Perry, 
I  shall." 

Mrs.  Richards  obtained  the  book  on  Junior  work, 
and  read  and  reread  it.  She  found  that  it  was  recom- 
mended that  the  Junior  Department  meet  in  its  own 
room,  with  its  own  superintendent,  assistant  superin- 
tendent, secretary,  and  pianist.     She  learned  also  that 


Organization  and  Management  15 

each  class  should  have  a  separate  classroom,  if  pos- 
sible, and  a  capable  teacher. 

*'  Well,"  she  said  to  herself,  *'  we  have  about  every- 
thing this  book  calls  for  except  the  separate  class- 
rooms and  the  piano.  At  the  present  time  there  is  no 
possible  chance  for  us  to  have  classrooms,  but  I  shall 
see  at  once  about  the  piano.  I  lay  the  blame  of  at 
least  one-half  of  the  confusion  of  last  Sunday  morning 
upon  that  old  v^dieezy  organ." 

"  I  shall  call  a  teachers'  conference,"  she  said,  "  and 
talk  this  matter  over  with  them."  It  was  arranged 
that  the  teachers'  conference  should  be  held  in  the 
Junior  room  of  the  church,  and  at  the  appointed  time 
Mrs.  Richards  was  there,  and  although  she  waited 
nearly  an  hour  only  one  teacher  came  to  the  meeting, 
Miss  Metz,  an  interesting  young  lady,  who  was  teach- 
ing a  class  of  eleven-year-old  girls.  ''  Can  it  be  pos- 
sible that  the  others  are  not  coming?  "  said  Mrs.  Rich- 
ards. "  They  seldom  ever  come  to  the  teachers' 
meeting,  Mrs.  Richards,"  said  Miss  Metz.  "  They're 
all  too  busy.  I  don't  know  what  is  going  to  become 
of  this  department.  It  seems  to  be  growing  worse  all 
the  time.  Last  Sunday  morning,  during  the  entire 
lesson  period,  the  boys  in  the  far  end  of  the  room  kept 
throwing  paper  wads  at  my  girls,  and,  of  course,  the 
girls  were  more  interested  in  what  the  boys  were  do- 
ing than  in  what  I  was  saying.  It  is  dreadful  to  have 
them  act  so,  but  what  can  I  do?  " 

"  I  have  been  reading  up  on  Junior  work  this  week," 
said  Mrs.  Richards,  "  and  find  that  separate  classrooms 
are  recommended  for  Juniors,  but  it  is  not  possible  for 
us  to  have  them."     "  I  wish  we  did  have  them,"  said 


16  Our  Junior  Department 

Miss  Metz.  "  If  my  girls  could  not  see  what  was  go- 
ing on  all  around  them,  they  would  be  good  girls. 
They  seem  interested  until  something  attracts  their 
attention,  and  then  I  might  as  well  quit  trying  to 
teach.  And  I  am  sure  that  those  boys  would  not  be 
so  bad  if  there  were  no  one  to  laugh  at  them.  They 
think  it  very  smart  to  make  the  girls  laugh." 

FINDING  A  WAY 

"  No  doubt  you  are  right,  Miss  Metz.  Do  you  sup- 
pose we  could  arrange  curtains  on  wires  to  form  class- 
rooms? I  fear  that  with  all  these  windows  open,  the 
wind  would  blow  them  around  and  cause  trouble." 
"  Why  couldn't  we  have  some  folding-screens,  Mrs. 
Richards,  separating  each  class  from  the  others  ? " 
"  That's  a  splendid  suggestion,  but  I  fear  that  it  would 
cost  too  much.  The  Sunday  school  officials  would 
think  it  foolish  to  spend  so  much  on  screens.  They  do 
not  realize  how  much  these  would  help." 

"  Well,  why  can't  we  do  something  to  raise  some 
money?  I  believe  the  teachers  would  all  be  willing 
to  cooperate  in  raising  money  for  screens  if  they 
thought  these  would  help  to  keep  the  boys  and  girls 
quiet."  "  That  is  a  fine  suggestion.  What  a  bundle 
of  inspiration  you  are !  I  feel  that  I  can  work  twice 
as  hard  with  such  an  enthusiastic  helper.  Now,  what 
can  be  done  about  the  noise  of  chairs  and  feet?  We 
need  a  carpet  on  this  floor  to  deaden  the  sounds." 
"  We  certainly  do,  Mrs.  Richards.  Isn't  it  too  bad  to 
think  we  can't  have  the  necessary  equipment  for  our 
Sunday  school  ? "     *'  It  certainly  is,  but.  I  know  what 


Organization  and  Management  17 

would  help.  If  we  had  rubber  tips  on  the  chairs,  that 
would  be  less  expensive  than  a  carpet,  and  would 
answer  every  purpose."  "  The  very  thing,  Mrs.  Rich- 
ards.    Certainly  we  can  have  that  done." 

"  I  shall  talk  to  Mr.  Perry  about  our  plans,"  con- 
tinued Mrs.  Richards.  "  We  need  a  piano  badly,  but 
perhaps  we  can  have  this  old  organ  repaired,  and  can 
manage  to  get  along,  if  we  can  get  the  screens  at  once. 
I  think  we  have  had  a  splendid  meeting,  even  though 
there  were  but  two  present." 

Mr.  Perry  agreed  to  have  the  rubber  tips  put  upon 
the  chairs  in  the  Junior  Department,  and  to  help  pur- 
chase screens,  if  the  teachers  would  agree  to  provide 
part  of  the  money.  When  the  plan  was  pres'^nted  to 
the  teachers,  they  became  very  much  interested,  and 
all  began  at  once  to  plan  ways  of  making  money. 

The  Junior  boys  and  girls  also  became  interested, 
and  wanted  to  help.  They  secured  magazine  sub- 
scriptions, for  which  they  received  a  commission.  A 
musical  entertainment  was  given,  with  an  admission 
fee.  With  all  interested  and  busy,  it  did  not  take  long 
to  earn  the  required  amount  of  money ;  so  the  screens 
were  ordered.  It  was  decided  to  have  the  screens 
made  to  order,  making  them  four  feet  nine  inches  high 
by  five  feet  wide,  using  a  light  framework  of  wood, 
covered  with  dark  green  burlap.  They  were  very  at- 
tractive-looking when  finished,  and  less  expensive  than 
the  folding  ones,  and  would  not  require  so  much  space. 
It  was  a  "  gala  day  "  for  the  Junior  Department  when 
the  screens  finally  arrivTsd.  All  rejoiced  in  the  easy  ac- 
complishment of  a  task  that  had  at  first  appeared  to  be 
difficult. 


18  Our  Junior  Department 


MAKING  AN  EXPERIMENT 

Mrs.  Richards  and  several  of  the  teachers  met  one 
afternoon  to  arrange  the  Junior  room,  which  had  been 
thoroughly  cleaned.  The  organ  and  the  table  for  the 
superintendent  were  placed  in  one  end  of  the  room. 
Mrs.  Richards  had  purchased  enough  black  oilcloth  to 
cover  the  top  of  the  table,  and,  when  this  had  been 
tacked  on  neatly,  the  table  had  a  very  presentable 
appearance. 

Screens  were  placed  on  each  side  of  the  room,  about 
six  feet  apart,  making  six  classrooms.  There  was  a 
space  of  fourteen  feet  left  through  the  center  of  the 
room,  and  in  this  space  chairs  were  placed  in  rows, 
three  on  each  side,  leaving  a  narrow  aisle  through  the 
center  of  the  room.  Lines  were  painted  on  the  floor, 
and  the  front  legs  of  the  chairs  were  placed  directly  on 
these  lines. 

Here,  in  order,  the  children  could  assemble  for  the 
opening  service.  Then  each  Junior  could  carry  his 
chair  into  the  classroom,  seating  himself  at  the  table, 
and,  at  the  close  of  the  lesson-period,  at  a  given  signal, 
could  carry  it  out  again,  setting  it  down  on  the  line, 
and  everything  would  be  in  order  again  for  the  closing 
service. 

While  they  were  at  work  arranging  the  room,  Mr. 
Perry,  the  general  superintendent,  and  Mr.  White,  the 
minister,  came  in.  "  Well,"  said  Mr.  Perry,  "  do  you 
really  think  this  will  help?"  "  We  are  sure  it  will," 
said  the  teachers  in  chorus.  "  Well,  I  don't  know.  If 
I  were  a  boy,  I  think  I  should  be  peeking  around  the 
screen  to  see  what  the   other  boys  were  doing,  or 


Organization  and  Management  19 

should  throw  my  cap  over  the  top  to  make  the  other 
class  jump." 

"  No,  you  wouldn't,  Mr.  Perry,  for  the  teachers 
are  going  to  make  it  so  interesting  in  their  classrooms 
that  the  boys  will  forget  there  are  any  other  boys  in 
the  rooms,"  said  Mrs.  Richards.  "  This  is  interest- 
ing," said  Mr.  White.  "  I  am  sure  you  can  do  much 
better  work  with  the  children  in  the  little  classrooms." 

The  following  Sunday  was  a  happy  day  for  every- 
one in  the  Junior  Department,  for  had  not  each  and 
everyone  helped  to  accomplish  this  complete  transfor- 
mation of  the  Junior  room  ? 

Mrs.  Richards,  as  she  stood  near  the  door  greeting 
the  children  as  they  arrived,  noticed  the  marked  dif- 
ference with  which  they  entered  the  room  that  day  as 
compared  with  the  day  on  which  she  had  first  taken 
charge  of  the  department.  Today  the  room  was  clean 
and  in  order,  and  Mrs.  Richards  smiled  when  she  over- 
heard one  little  fellow  say,  as  he  quietly  slid  into  his 
chair,  "  Gee,  this  is  like  going  to  church,  sitting  here 
in  straight  rows." 

For  the  first  time  since  Mrs.  Richards  had  taken 
charge  of  the  Junior  Department,  she  felt  as  if  she  had 
a  fair  chance.  Now  she  had  the  pupils  all  directly  in 
front  of  her,  instead  of  having  them  scattered  unevenly 
about  the  room.  She  could  look  directly  into  their 
faces,  and  they  could  hear,  without  effort,  all  she  had 
to  say.  The  opening  service  on  this  morning  was  one 
of  real  worship,  all  taking  part  in  the  singing,  and  all 
keeping  quiet  during  the  prayer. 

The  teachers  made  special  effort  to  have  an  interest- 
ing lesson,  and  th'C  department  began  to  take  on  the 


20  Our  Junior  Department 

appearance  of  a  real  school.  Mr.  Perry  and  Mr. 
White,  after  visiting  the  department  a  few  moments, 
declared  that  it  was  a  wonderful  step  forward. 

While  Mrs.  Richards  felt  that  she  had  solved  the 
problem  of  order  in  the  department,  one  great  step  in 
advance,  other  problems  confronted  her.  Some  of 
these  she  also  solved,  but  was  unable  to  solve  the 
others.  She  purchased  books  and  magazines,  and  at- 
tended conventions.  All  of  these  helped,  as  she  gained 
many  usable  ideas.  After  some  months  she  decided 
to  avail  herself  of  an  opportunity  to  attend  a  com- 
munity school  of  religious  education,  and  here  she  re- 
ceived very  material  additional  help,  for  she  was 
studying  with  teachers  who  were  specialists,  and  was 
meeting  with  the  other  students  of  the  school,  who, 
like  herself,  were  discussing  their  successes  and  fail- 
ures and  all  getting  the  help  they  needed. 

Mrs.  Richards  was  determined  now  to  make  her 
department  an  ideal  department.  This  would  take 
time,  she  knew,  but  she  would  lay  her  plans  carefully, 
and  each  year  would  raise  the  standard  higher,  until 
finally  they  would  reach  the  ideal.  She  hoped  to  see 
the  day  when  her  department  would  be  merged  into  a 
Junior  Department  of  the  church,  which  would  be  a 
coordination  of  all  the  church's  work  with  Juniors. 

Criticism  and  Discussion 

1.  What  do  you  think  of  Mrs.  Richards'  beginning? 
She  was  better  ofiP  than  many  superintendents  when 
they  begin,  for  she  found  the  Juniors  already  organ- 
ized into  a  department,  whereas,  in  many  schools, 
they  still  meet  with  the  ''  main  school."     If  you  have 


Organization  and  Management  21 

the  Juniors  meeting  with  the  older  members  of  the 
school,  old  style,  the  first  step  is  to  organize  a  separate 
Junior  Department.     But  how? 

2.  Suppose  your  Junior  superintendent  is  opposed 
to  a  separate  assembly  for  the  Junior  Department,  and 
you  are  a  Junior  teacher  and  you  want  separation. 
Then  you  must  educate  your  superintendent.  Get  him 
into  touch  with  modern  Sunday  school  ideals  and 
methods.  Get  him  to  read  this  book  and  some  other 
book  on  Junior  work.  Get  him  into  the  conventions, 
institutes,  and  training  schools.  If  you  cannot  edu- 
cate him  and  convert  him  after  tactful,  hopeful  trial, 
then  get  a  superintendent  who  is  edncatable. 

3.  Suppose  your  general  superintendent  says  that 
he  believes  in  Junior  separation  in  a  large  school,  but 
that  your  school  is  too  small  for  such  separation.  He 
says  that  the  Junior  Department  is  so  small  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  have  a  separate  Junior  order 
of  worship  that  will  be  interesting  and  develop  en- 
thusiasm. Tell  him  that  interest  and  enthusiasm  do 
not  depend  on  numbers,  but  on  grading.  If  the  Juniors 
are  led  in  intelligent  participation  in  an  order  of  wor- 
ship that  is  graded  to  fit  definitely  into  their  needs, 
then  they  w411  understand  and  appreciate  the  songs, 
the  prayers,  the  Scripture,  the  story,  and  other  wor- 
ship materials,  and  will  therefore  be  interested  and 
enthusiastic.  Moreover,  they  will  be  trained  relig- 
iously and  will  develop  spiritually — and  that  is  the 
real  purpose  of  their  being  in  Sunday  school. 

4.  If  the  general  superintendent  insists  that  the 
Juniors  are  interested  in  the  order  of  worship  in  the 
"  main  school,"  tell  him  that  they  will  be  more  inter- 


22  Our  Junior  Department 

ested  when  all  parts  of  the  program  all  the  time  are 
especially  adapted  to  them.  Admit  that  they  may  be 
receiving  some  benefit  from  the  adult  order  of  wor- 
ship. As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Juniors  receive  far  less 
benefit  from  the  average  **  main-school  "  order  of  wor- 
ship than  the  average  superintendent  supposes.  In 
many  instances,  the  Juniors  are  positively  inattentive 
and  disorderly,  and  oftentimes,  when  they  do  keep 
still,  they  simply  endure  an  imposed  order  of  worship 
which  they  cannot  understand  and  appreciate,  and 
which  does  not  afford  to  them  a  means  of  sincere  ex- 
pression and  genuine  worship. 

5.  Possibly  there  may  be  no  opposition  to  Junior 
separation,  but  there  is  no  separate  assembly-room  in 
which  to  meet.  In  that  case  go  to  work  to  create 
sentiment  for  a  new  educational  building.  In  one 
church  the  Junior  workers  had  a  separate  room  built 
on  the  church  lot  for  the  Junior  Department.  It  was 
a  cheap,  frame  affair,  but  it  met  the  immediate  and 
essential  need,  and  helped  to  make  possible  a  splendid 
new  building  later.  Put  your  Junior  Department  into 
a  tent  rather  than  have  them  meet  with  the  "  main 
school."  For  practical  help  in  the  matter  of  building 
and  equipment,  see  Trailers  "  Planning  Church  Build- 
ings." 

6.  In  case  it  does  not  seem  possible  to  find  any  im- 
mediate means  of  complete  separation  and  a  graded 
order  of  worship  for  the  Juniors,  you  can  at  least  effect 
a  complete  Junior  organization,  and  can  insist  on  a 
graded  Junior  order  of  worship  in  the  "  main  school," 
once  a  month,  conducted  by  the  superintendent.  This 
Junior  order  of  worship  will  be  just  as  interesting  to 


Organization  and  Management  23 

the  other  departments  as  the  usual  **  opening  exer- 
cises," and  will  be  more  helpful,  and  will  definitely 
meet  the  needs  of  the  Juniors  for  a  part  of  the  time. 
The  Juniors  also  will  be  more  interested  on  the  other 
Sundays,  when  they  have  their  special  program  once  a 
month. 

7.  The  following  are  some  of  the  best  books  on 
Junior  work :  **  The  Junior  Worker  and  Work," 
Josephine  L.  Baldwin ;  *'  How  to  Conduct  a  Junior 
Department,"  Vorhees ;  "  The  Juniors :  How  to  Teach 
and  Train  Them,"  Maud  Junkin  Baldwin ;  "  All  About 
the  Juniors,"  Sudlow.  Other  books  especially  valu- 
able for  Junior  workers  are  the  following :  "  Story- 
Telling  Lessons,"  Tralle ;  "  The  Use  of  Projects  in 
Religious  Education,"  Hartley ;  "  The  Use  of  Pictures 
in  Religious  Education,"  Beard ;  *'  Handwork  in  the 
Sunday  School,"  Littlefield ;  "  Handwork  in  Religious 
Education,"  Wardle ;  '*  Childhood  and  Character/" 
Hartshorne. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  JUNIOR  CONFERENCE 

It  was  encouraging  to  Mrs.  Richards  to  note  the  in- 
dications of  new  interest  on  the  part  of  her  teachers, 
who  agreed  readily  to  a  monthly  conference  for  the 
consideration  of  the  problems  of  the  department. 

At  the  first  regular  meeting  Mrs.  Richards  said :  **  I 
am  more  than  pleased  to  see  so  many  teachers  here 
tonight,  and  I  wish  all  of  our  teachers  were  present, 
for  we  have  some  important  work  to  map  out.  It  is 
now  time  to  begin  our  meeting.  Shall  we  not  look  to 
God  in  prayer,  asking  his  guidance  in  the  work  that 
is  before  us?  May  we  not  have  a  chain  of  prayers, 
each  teacher  taking  part?" 

The  teachers  responded  promptly  to  this  invitation, 
after  which  Mrs.  Richards  began  the  business  of  the 
evening.  She  said :  "  We  have  the  matter  of  order 
very  well  taken  care  of,  it  seems  to  me,  since  we  have 
our  classrooms  and  have  drilled  the  boys  and  girls  in 
moving  their  chairs  quietly,  and  I  think  it  is  time  we 
were  taking  up  some  more  of  our  problems  and  solv- 
ing them." 

DISCUSSION  OF  LATE-COMERS 

*'  Suppose  we  take  our  problems  as  they  come,  from 
the  time  we  arrive  at  Sunday  school,  and  follow  the 
program  of  the  day.  The  tardy  people  bother  me. 
24 


The  Junior  Conference  25 

While  I  was  telling  the  little  story  last  Sunday  morn- 
ing, I  am  sure  that  at  least  six  came  in  late.  You 
know  what  that  means.  Everyone  turns  to  see  who 
is  coming  in,  and  the  story  is  spoiled.  What  are  we 
to  do?" 

"  I  was  one  of  the  late  ones,"  giggled  Mrs.  Martin, 
"  but,  Mrs.  Richards,  Sunday  morning  is  the  only 
morning  I  have  to  sleep  late,  and,  by  the  time  I  get 
breakfast  over  and  my  dinner  started,  it  is  hard  to  get 
to  Sunday  school  on  time,  but  I  think  if  I  get  there 
in  time  to  teach  the  lesson  that  is  the  important 
thing." 

*'  Have  you  ever  thought,"  said  Mrs.  Richards,  "  of 
the  effect  your  tardiness  will  have  upon  the  boys  and 
girls?  Your  example  means  very  much  to  children  of 
this  age."  "  Well,  I  shall  try  to  be  on  time  next  Sun- 
day," replied  Mrs.  Martin.  "  Maybe  I  can  do  it."  "  I 
hope  you  can,  Mrs.  Martin.  The  lesson  is  very  im- 
portant, but  so  is  the  opening  service.  There  are 
many  things  to  teach  the  Juniors  besides  the  lesson. 
How  about  it,  teachers,  shall  we  start  a  campaign 
against  tardy  marks  ?'^ 

The  teachers  all  voted  yes,  and  Mrs.  Richards  con- 
tinued :  "  Perhaps,  if  we  could  have  more  surprises  in 
the  program,  this  might  help  to  make  it  more  interest- 
ing. Especially  at  the  beginning  of  the  program  there 
ought  to  be  some  new,  attractive  feature.  Then  the 
Juniors  would  come  on  time  in  order  not  to  miss  anything. 
We  might  try  it,  anyway.  It  was  suggested  at  the  com- 
munity training  school  I  have  been  attending."  The 
teachers  agreed  that  it  would  be  the  thing  to  do,  and 
promised  to  bring  in  suggestions  from  time  to  time. 


26  Our  Junior  Department 

ORDER  AND  REVERENCE 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mrs.  Richards,  ''  I  shall  try  to 
vary  the  program  each  week.  Now,  the  next  thing  I 
want  to  mention  is  reverence.  I  think  we  can  im- 
prove on  that  in  the  worship  period.  I  notice,  when 
we  pray,  that  there,  is  a  restlessness  and  a  little  con- 
fusion that  should  not  exist.  I  try  to  make  the  pray- 
ers short  and  appropriate  and  to  use  words  that  they 
will  understand.  Also  we  have  tried  using  Bible-verse 
prayers,  so  all  can  take  part.  Have  any  of  you  sug- 
gestions that  will  help  to  solve  this  problem  ?  " 

"  Why,  Mrs.  Richards,  you  simply  can't  do  anything 
with  those  boys  of  mine,"  said  Miss  Moore.  "  Last 
week  they  were  simply  awful.  James  was  reading  a 
paper  during  the  prayer,  and  I  took  it  away  from  him 
in  a  hurry,  and  then  the  rest  of  the  class  all  looked  up 
and  began  to  laugh  at  him..  I  motioned  to  them  to 
keep  still,  and  then  those  in  the  row  in  front  heard  us, 
and  they  looked  around  and  began  to  laugh.  It  kept 
getting  worse.     They  surely  are  terrible." 

"Was  that  the  trouble?"  said  Miss  Sharp.  "I 
wondered  why  my  boys  looked  around.  Of  course  I 
kept  my  head  bowed  and  my  eyes  closed,  for  I  have 
talked  to  my  boys  and  told  them  that  when  we  talk  to 
God  we  must  shut  the  world  out  and  think  of  what 
is  being  said.     So  I  try  to  practice  what  I  preach." 

"  Well,  I  watch  mine  closely,  and  do  my  best  to 
make  them  behave,"  said  Miss  Moore.  *'  If  you  will 
allow  me,"  said  Mrs.  Gray,  "  I  should  like  to  tell  of  my 
experience.  I  find  that  there  is  usually  some  one  indi- 
vidual that  starts  the  michief  in  the  class,  and  I  gener- 


The  Junior  Conference  27 

ally  manage  to  have  that  one  sit  by  me,  and,  if  I  feel 
that  he  is  inattentive,  I  put  my  hand  quietly  upon  his 
shoulder.     If  he  needs  correcting,  I  do  this  privately." 

**  I  think  that  a  splendid  suggestion,  Mrs.  Gray," 
said  Mrs.  Richards,  '*  for  we  want  the  children  to  wor- 
ship with  us,  and  not  to  feel  that  we  are  there  to 
watch  them  and  compel  them  to  worship.  I  must  tell 
you  about  a  school  I  visited  not  long  ago.  The  super- 
intendent said,  *  Now,  children,  let  us  all  pray,  using 
the  Lord's  Prayer,'  and  during  the  prayer  she  was  busy 
putting  away  some  papers  and  pencils  she  had  been 
using.  When  the  superintendent  was  guilty  of  such 
irreverence,  I  wondered  how  she  could  expect  the  boys 
and  girls  to  be  reverent.  We  workers  need  to  be  very 
careful,  because  the  Juniors  will  imitate  those  whom 
they  admire." 

"  Well,  my  boys  certainly  are  the  worst  in  the 
school,"  said  Miss  Moore  again,  *'  but  I  intend  to  make 
them  mind  if  it's  the  last  thing  I  ever  do.  There  is 
no  use  for  them  to  come  to  Sunday  school  and  act  like 
heathens." 

ONE  CLASS  OF  BOYS 

"  Miss  Moore,  I  believe  you  are  feeling  about  as  I 
did  when  I  took  my  first  class  of  boys,"  said  Mrs. 
Gray.  "  I  really  didn't  want  them,  but  Mrs.  Richards 
insisted  I  try,  and,  as  there  was  no  one  else  to  take  the 
class,  I  agreed.  The  boys  didn't  seem  to  want  me 
any  more  than  I  wanted  them,  but,  since  I  had  taken 
the  class,  I  was  determined  to  succeed. 

"  I  taught  the  class  several  weeks,  and  didn't  seem 
to  make  much  impression  on  them,  until  one  morning 


28  Our  Junior  Department 

after  Sunday  school  I  asked  them  if  they  would  like 
to  go  to  gather  walnuts  the  next  Saturday  afternoon. 
They  all  assured  me  they  would  go,  and  so  we  started 
promptly  at  one  o'clock  the  following  Saturday  after- 
noon. 

"  But,  to  my  surprise,  I  soon  found  that,  instead  of 
my  taking  the  boys  out,  they  were  taking  me  out.  I 
did  not  tell  them  I  was  tired,  but  followed  them  the 
longest  way  around  to  the  best  walnut  tree.  We 
gathered  walnuts,  and  then  I  suggested  some  lively 
games. 

*'  After  playing  awhile,  I  asked  the  boys  to  gather 
some  sticks  for  a  fire,  and  told  them  I  would  prepare 
lunch.  Suddenly  I  heard  a  shout,  and  one  of  the  boys 
was  saying,  '  Show  it  to  Mrs.  Gray.'  I  looked  in  the 
direction  of  the  shouting  group,  and  saw  them  coming 
up  the  hill  with  a  big  snake  on  a  crooked  limb.  My 
blood  ran  cold,  for,  if  there  is  one  thing  I  am  afraid  of, 
it  is  a  snake.  I  thought,  *  What  shall  I  do?  I  must 
never  let  them  see  I  am  afraid.  If  I  do,  the  day  is 
lost.' 

"  It  seemed  that  the  good  Lord  was  with  me,  for 
when  the  two  boys  in  the  lead  shouted,  *  Oh,  Mrs. 
Gray,  see  what  Shorty  and  Red  have  found,'  I  said, 
'  Well,  good  for  them !  I  have  always  heard  that 
snakes  could  swim.  Let  us  put  it  into  the  brook  and 
see  if  they  really  can. '  No  sooner  said  than  done. 
Away  they  all  ran  to  the  brook,  and  they  threw  the 
snake  into  the  water.  Soon  they  reported  that  *  it 
swam  like  a  fish.'  We  then  ate  our  lunch,  and  some- 
how I  managed  to  get  home. 

"  And  I  have  never  had  cause  to  regret  that  strenu- 


The  Junior  Conference  29 

ous  trip.  I  am  not  advising  anyone  to  repeat  my  ex- 
perience, but  it  is  worth  lots  of  effort  on  any  teacher's 
part  to  get  acquainted  with  his  pupils,  and  that  is  just 
what  I  accomplished  on  my  trip  with  those  boys. 
Now  they  will  do  almost  anything  I  ask  of  them." 

"  So  that  is  the  secret  of  your  success,"  said  Mrs. 
Richards.  "  I  have  often  wondered  just  what  you  did 
to  make  those  boys  admire  you  so  much.  And  are 
you  acquainted  with  the  parents  also?"  "Yes,  Mrs. 
Richards,  I  have  called  on  the  parents,  and  they  under- 
stand just  what  I  expect  of  the  boys." 

THAT  NOTE-BOOK  WORK 

"  I  am  sorry,"  said  Mrs.  Richards,  "  that  Mr.  Wright 
could  not  be  with  us  tonight.  He  is  doing  some  good 
work  with  those  third-year  boys,  and  we  would  be  in- 
terested in  knowing  some  of  his  plans.  Now  let  us 
take  up  our  classroom  troubles.  What  is  the  greatest 
problem  in  this  part  of  the  program  ?  " 

"  My  boys  will  not  write  in  those  note-books,"  said 
Miss  Moore.  "  They  simply  refuse."  '*  I  have  trouble 
with  my  girls  about  losing  their  books,  and  the  pity 
of  it  is  that  they  don't  care,"  said  Miss  Morris.  "  I'll 
tell  you  how  to  prevent  that,"  said  Mrs.  Roberts.  "  I 
have  a  big  box,  and  put  all  the  books  into  that,  and 
we  do  all  the  work  right  in  class,  leaving  the  box  in 
the  room,  and  the  next  Sunday  everything  is  ready  for 
work  again.  I  find  it  the  easiest  way.  I  think  this 
graded  work  is  a  lot  of  foolishness,  anyway.  When  I 
was  a  child,  we  all  had  the  same  lesson,  and  it  certainly 
saved  a  lot  of  trouble," 


30  Our  Junior  Department 

"  I  never  have  time  enough,"  said  Mrs.  Martin. 
"  There  are  so  many  important  things  to  teach  I  never 
get  half-w^ay  through  my  lesson."  "  My  girls  are  do- 
ing splendid  vi^ork,  v^ith  one  exception,"  said  Miss 
Metz,  **  and  that  is  the  memory  work ;  I  don't  seem  to 
be  successful  in  getting  that  done."  "  It  takes  so  long 
for  my  girls  to  *  settle  down '  in  class,  and  much  time 
is  wasted  in  foolish  talk  before  I  can  begin  teaching," 
said  Miss  Stone. 

"  Well,  well,"  said  Mrs.  Richards,  "  a  great  variety 
of  troubles  here.  I  have  been  thinking  it  might  be  a 
good  idea  to  refresh  our  minds  as  to  the  real  object  of 
the  Junior  work.  It  is  the  boys  and  girls  of  this  de- 
partment we  are  working  for;  it  is  their  needs  we 
must  supply. 

"  The  aim  of  the  graded  lessons  is  to  present  ma- 
terials of  instruction  suited  to  their  mental  abilities 
and  spiritual  needs,  to  develop  in  them  habits  of  Bible 
study,  of  neatness  in  doing  the  handwork,  and  of  keep- 
ing interested  and  giving  attention.  Our  campaign 
against  tardy-marks  will  help  to  form  habits  of 
promptness. 

*'  I  believe  that,  if  we  present  the  lesson  in  story 
form  and  then  assign  certain  definite  work  for  the 
pupil  to  do  during  the  week,  and  then  on  the  following 
Sunday  give  recognition  of  the  accomplished  work,  we 
can  get  the  Juniors  to  do  as  we  want  them  to  do. 

"  I  do  not  believe  very  much  in  offering  prizes,  but, 
instead,  suppose  we  try  writing  upon  the  class-black- 
board the  names  of  those  who  do  the  required  work, 
or  try  putting  a  gold  star  upon  the  lesson  page  each 
time  the  work  is  done,  and  then  at  the  end  of  the 


The  Junior  Conference  31 

quarter  I  can  mention  the  names  of  the  honor  pupils 
before  the  whole  department. 

'*  We  must  create  a  spirit  of  interest,  and  then  I  am 
sure  the  pupils  will  work.  Nobody  likes  to  work  just 
because  he  has  to,  but,  if  it  is  made  interesting,  the 
work  becomes  a  real  pleasure.  If  we  do  not  teach  so 
the  Juniors  will  understand  and  then  want  to  do  the 
required  work,  our  teaching  has  fallen  short. 

"  Mrs.  Martin,  you  say  you  never  have  time  enough. 
Do  you  select  one  central  theme  in  your  lesson  and 
then  build  your  story  around  that  one  truth  you  want 
to  teach  your  class,  and  give  so  many  minutes  to  the 
telling  of  the  story  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  Mrs.  Richards,  there  are  so  many  things 
that  are  so  important  I  like  to  mention  them  all." 
"  Let  me  remind  you,"  replied  Mrs.  Richards,  "  of  the 
old  saying, '  A  gun  that  scatters  carries  no  destruction.' 
So  give  the  class  one  thought  they  can  understand  and 
take  into  their  lives  and  live,  and  you  can  accomplish 
far  more  than  to  try  to  give  them  too  much." 

THE  MEMORY  WORK 

"  Miss  Metz,  you  spoke  of  the  memory  work.  Do 
your  girls  understand  what  they  are  memorizing?  Do 
you  carefully  explain  the  meaning?  Do  you  select 
verses  for  memorizing  that  will  help  them  now? 
Juniors  should  memorize  Scripture  passages  that  contain 
certain  truths  or  commands  of  value  for  immediate  as 
well  as  future  use." 

"  I  thank  you  for  the  suggestion,  Mrs.  Richards.  I 
think  I  shall  also  use  a  reward  of  some  kind  for  com- 


32  Our  Junior  Department 

pleted  memory  work.  I  believe  I  shall  make  a  chart 
to  hang  on  the  wall  of  our  classroom,  and  write  on 
this  the  names  of  the  girls  and  put  a  gold  star  for  each 
verse  memorized." 

"  A  capital  idea !  The  Juniors  enjoy  seeing  their 
names  in  a  prominent  place.  I  am  sure  they  will  work 
for  that.  And  now,  Miss  Stone,  we  must  help  you  to 
get  '  settled-down  '  quickly  and  stop  this  *  foolishness  ' 
that  bothers  you  so.  Do  you  begin  the  lesson  period 
with  a  class-prayer?" 

'*  No,  we  haven't ;  the  children  are  so  restless  that  I 
get  right  to  teaching  as  quickly  as  I  can."  "  Will  you 
try  marking  the  class-records  quickly,  and  then  ask 
the  class  to  bow  their  heads  in  prayer?  Then  they 
will  be  quiet  at  once,  I  think.  Another  reason  for  this 
suggestion  is  that  one  of  the  habits  we  want  Juniors 
to  form  is  the  prayer-habit." 

"  But,  Mrs.  Richards,  they  are  so  timid  I  don't  think 
they  ever  will  pray  in  class."  "  Try  a  Bible-verse 
prayer,  the  class  repeating  it  in  concert.  Later  use 
sentence-prayers,  suggesting  the  subject  or  sentence, 
such  as,  *  Lord,  help  me  to  be  good,'  or  '  help  me  to  do 
right,'  or  *  help  me  to  be  kind,'  etc.  Use  something 
that  will  fit  into  the  lesson-theme  of  the  day."  "  All 
right,  I  shall  try  that  plan.  I  believe  it  is  just  what 
we  need." 

"  It  is  growing  late,"  said  Mrs.  Richards,  "  and  I 
believe  it  will  be  wise  to  postpone  the  rest  of  our 
troubles  until  the  next  regular  meeting  of  our  Junior 
conference.     Let  us  consider  ourselves  dismissed." 

At  the  next  conference  all  the  teachers  were  present, 
and  additional  problems  were  considered. 


The  Junior  Conference  33 


Criticism  and  Discussion 

1.  Is  it  necessary  always  to  open  the  Junior  confer- 
ence with  prayer?  No,  not  always,  but  usually.  And, 
when  you  do  open  with  prayer,  it  is  well  to  vary  it 
from  time  to  time.  Call  for  three  sentence-prayers 
occasionally.  Ask  one  of  the  teachers  to  lead  another 
time.  Lead  yourself  occasionally.  Very  rarely  have 
all  to  repeat  together  some  form  of  prayer.  Once  in  a 
while,  let  there  be  a  moment  of  silent  prayer  at  the 
beg-inning. 

2.  Tardiness  should  count  against  the  Junior  in  his 
class  grades  and  in  his  promotions.  Those  who  are 
on  time  not  only  should  receive  a  better  grade,  but  also 
should  receive  cordial  words  of  commendation  occa- 
sionally. Ask  them  to  stand,  and  praise  them.  If 
there  are  little  duties  which  are  regarded  as  privileges, 
grant  these  only  to  those  who  are  on  time.  Call  atten- 
tion occasionally  to  some  good  thing  in  the  earlier 
part  of  the  program  that  was  missed  by  the  late- 
comers. Keep  the  late-comers  standing  in  the  hall- 
way or  near  the  entrance  and  allow  them  to  be  seated 
only  at  certain  intervals  in  the  program.  Those  who 
are  on  time  should  be  seated  toward  the  front,  com- 
pactly, so  that  the  order  of  worship  is  less  interfered 
with  by  those  who  come  in  late. 

3.  In  addition  to  all  that  was  brought  out  in  this 
Junior  conference  regarding  the  securing  of  reverence, 
the  main  thing  remains  to  be  said,  namely,  that  the 
order  of  worship  should  be  of  such  a  character  as  will 
develop  the  attitude  of  reverence  in  the  Juniors.  Each 
order  of  Avorship  should  be  built  around  a  single  defi- 

c 


34  Our  Junior  Department 

nite  theme  and  should  be  graded,  of  course.  The 
songs  should  be  such  as  may  be  understood  and  appre- 
ciated by  the  Juniors,  and  will  at  the  same  time  ex- 
press their  own  true  emotions.  So  with  the  prayer 
and  the  Scripture.  Occasionally  the  theme  of  the 
order  of  worship  possibly  might  be  some  phase  of 
reverence,  so  that  it  will  teach  reverence  definitely, 
and  at  the  same  time  every  well-arranged,  graded 
order  of  worship  will  evoke  the  emotion  of  reverence, 
and  will  promote  genuine  worship. 

4.  What  do  you  think  of  Mrs.  Gray's  experience  in 
taking  the  boys  walnut-hunting?  Can  you  relate  any 
similar  experience?  Of  course  you  would  not  take  a 
class  after  walnuts  unless  you  had  reason  to  believe 
that  there  were  walnuts  where  you  were  going.  If  the 
Juniors  have  had  fun  under  your  leadership  between 
Sundays,  likely  they  will  cooperate  with  you  on  Sun- 
day. Besides,  an  occasional  outing  gives  the  teacher 
a  chance  to  do  some  good  teaching  without  seeming 
to  teach  at  all. 

5.  What  is  the  best  suggestion  given  in  this  chapter 
for  getting  the  note-book  work  done  by  the  pupils? 
Why? 

6.  It  is  not  true,  as  some  have  claimed,  that  the 
Junior  period  is  the  great  memory  period  of  life,  and 
there  is  a  danger  of  requiring  too  much  rote  memoriz- 
ing on  the  part  of  the  Junior,  but  at  the  same  time  the 
Junior  is  able  now  to  do  a  considerable  amount  of 
memorizing,  and  we  should  be  concerned  to  assist  him 
in  memorizing  a  number  of  selections  of  Scripture  and 
a  number  of  the  best  Junior  hymns.  In  all  memory 
work  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  that  the  Junior 


The  Junior  Conference  35 

understand  and  appreciate  and  use  everything  that  he 
memorizes. 

7.  Read,  in  *'  The  Junior  Workers  and  Work/'  the 
following  chapters :  The  Value  of  Handwork,  Play  in 
Religious  Education,  The  Service  of  Worship,  The 
Teacher's  Work  Between  Sundays.  Read  Miss  Hart- 
ley's "  The  Use  of  Projects  in  Religious  Education." 
See  particularly  her  Chapter  IV,  Mastering  the 
Memory  Work. 


CHAPTER  III 
FINDING  GOOD  TEACHERS 

The  work  Mrs.  Richards  was  doing  in  her  depart- 
ment began  to  attract  the  attention  of  other  Junior 
workers,  who  visited  her  department  and  asked  her 
for  suggestions.  One  of  these  visitors  was  a  Mrs. 
Jackson. 

"  It  was  certainly  kind  of  you,  Mrs.  Richards,  to 
give  me  one  whole  afternoon  in  your  home  just  to 
talk  about  Junior  work.  I  was  glad  to  visit  in  the 
Junior  Department  of  your  Sunday  school  last  Sun- 
day, but  of  course  it  was  impossible  to  ask  you  any 
questions  during  the  session,  and  there  are  a  great 
many  things  I  want  to  know. 

A  SUPERINTENDENT'S  PROBLEM 

"  I  have  been  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  Junior 
Department  in  our  school,  beginning  next  month,  and 
I  am  trying  to  visit  as  many  schools  as  I  can,  and  to 
hold  as  many  conferences  with  the  leaders  as  possible 
before  I  actually  begin  the  work. 

"  You  see  I  have  brought  my  note-book,  as  I  want 
to  keep  in  permanent  form  all  the  helpful  suggestions 
I  get  from  you.  I  expect  I  shall  refer  to  them  many 
times  while  I  am  new  in  the  work." 

"  That  is  a  good  idea,  Mrs.  Jackson.  You  can  put 
36 


Finding  Good  Teachers  37 

your  notes  into  a  scrap-book.  Your  scrap-book  will 
prove  to  be  your  best  friend.  I  could  not  get  along 
without  mine.  I  am  constantly  on  the  lookout  for 
suitable  stories  and  story-materials,  suggestive  pro- 
grams, hints  for  posters  and  birthday  calendars,  sea- 
sonal suggestions  for  special-day  programs,  decora- 
tions, games,  and  entertainments  for  week-day  activi- 
ties— in  fact,  anything  I  think  I  might  use. 

"  Then,  in  connection  with  this,  I  also  have  in  the 
attic  a  scrap-box  in  which  I  keep  a  collection  of  pic- 
tures from  magazines.  Occasionally  the  cover  of  a 
religious  magazine  will  have  on  it  a  scene  in  Palestine. 
I  save  the  pictures  of  people  in  other  countries,  using 
these  pictures  in  missionary  posters.  Sometimes  I  use 
them  to  illustrate  a  story  I  have  been  telling." 

"  I  am  beginning  to  think,"  said  Mrs.  Jackson,  "  that 
a  Junior  superintendent  has  real  work  to  do.  They 
told  me  all  I  should  have  to  do  would  be  to  prepare 
an  opening-service  program  and  to  see  that  each  class 
had  a  teacher.  It  looked  easy,  but,  Mrs.  Richards,  I 
am  worried  about  it,  and,  the  more  I  visit  and  see  what 
others  are  doing,  the  more  worried  I  am.  I  know  now 
that  we  do  not  have  the  right  kind  of  teachers,  and  I 
don't  know  how  to  select  them." 

"  You  are  making  progress,  Mrs.  Jackson,  when  you 
discover  that  your  chief  problem  is  the  problem  of 
teachers.  There  are  certain  qualifications  a  Junior 
teacher  must  have  if  she  makes  a  success  of  the  work, 
and,  if  you  keep  these  in  mind,  your  task  will  be  less 
difficult. 

"  First,  let  me  suggest  a  few  different  kinds  of 
teachers  you  should  avoid. 


38  Our  Junior  Department 


THE  TEACHERS  NOT  WANTED 

"  In  thinking  of  the  wrong  kind  of  teachers,  I  place 
first  on  the  list  the  solemn,  long-faced  teacher,  who 
sees  only  the  vilest  of  sinners  in  a  class  of  Junior  boys, 
and  who  never  has  a  smile  for  them,  but  constantly 
threatens  them  with  eternal  punishment  and  offers 
them  no  hope  of  heaven  because  they  are  '  so  naughty.' 

"  I  knew  this  sort  of  teacher  in  a  Primary  Depart- 
ment. One  morning  the  boys  were  rather  restless 
during  the  opening  service,  and  she  kept  frowning  at 
them,  but  it  apparently  had  no  effect  upon  them. 

"  After  church  was  over,  and  the  mother  of  one  of 
the  boys  had  reached  home,  she  took  her  small  son  to 
task  about  his  conduct.  *  Why  were  you  so  naughty 
in  Sunday  school  this  morning,  Newton  ?  Didn't  you 
see  the  teacher  frowning  and  shaking  her  head  at. 
you?'  'Yes,  that's  why  we  did  it,'  said  Newton. 
*  Well,  just  remember  that  it  must  not  happen  again,* 
said  the  mother.  '  Aw,  mother,  she's  no  teacher  for 
boys.     Why  can't  we  have  one  that  can  take  a  joke.* 

"  And  his  mother  was  telling  me  just  the  other  day 
how  happy  Newton  was  this  year.  He  says  his  new 
teacher  smiles  and  says,  *  Good  morning,'  and  listens 
to  what  the  boys  have  to  say  before  Sunday  school 
begins,  and  he  says,  *  We  wouldn't  do  anything  she 
didn't  want  us  to  do  for  anything  in  the  world.' 

"  Just  so  in  dealing  with  Juniors.  We  can't  present 
to  them  a  dismal,  gloomy  religion.  They  are  not 
ready  for  deep,  serious  thoughts.  We  must  offer  them 
all  that  is  bright  and  happy  and  beautiful  if  we  want 
them  to  live  as  Christians, 


Finding  Good  Teachers  39 

"  The  next  type  of  teacher  to  avoid  is  the  one  who 
teaches  to  satisfy  a  troubled  conscience.  Such  an  in- 
dividual usually  will  say  when  asked  to  teach  a  class, 
'  Oh,  I  know  I  ought  to  do  something.  It's  awful 
the  way  I  neglect  my  church.  Yes,  I'll  try  a  Sunday 
school  class.' 

"  So  she  takes  the  class.  But  that  is  about  all  you 
can  say  for  her.  Usually  she  prepares  the  lesson  dur- 
ing the  opening  service.  Then,  during  the  lesson 
period,  you  see  her  glancing  frequently  at  the  clock, 
and,  when  the  signal  for  closing  is  given,  you  can 
readily  note  the  relieved  expression  that  settles  over 
her  face.  The  result  of  it  all  is  that  the  teacher's  con- 
science is  satisfied  for  one  more  week.  As  for  the 
class,  '  out  of  sight,  out  of  mind.' 

"  Then  there  is  the  teacher  who  teaches  to  improve 
her  mind.  She  thinks  she  is  growing  '  rusty '  on  Bible 
study,  and  takes  a  class  to  *  brush  up  a  bit.'  She  may 
get  the  information  she  w^ants,  but  the  members  of  the 
class  do  not  get  anything.  She  usually  presents  the 
lesson  to  the  class  from  an  adult  point  of  view  instead 
of  making  it  simple,  interesting,  and  vital  to  the 
Juniors. 

"  Also  there  is  the  '  zveak-willed '  teacher.  She  has 
no  personality.  The  pupils  make  her  nervous.  She 
can't  manage  them  and  is  sure  she  *  had  better  give  up 
the  class,'  but  never  does.  If  she  only  would  quit,  the 
situation  would  be  relieved,  but  she  only  complains. 

"  I  knew  one  teacher  of  this  type,  a  woman  of  mid- 
dle age.  One  day  she  was  complaining  of  those 
*  dreadful  boys '  in  her  class  during  a  teachers'  con- 
ference, when  a  little  girl  just  fourteen  years  old,  who 


40  Our  Junior  Department 

had  been  teaching  a  class  of  girls,  said,  '  I'd  be  glad 
to  trade  classes  with  Mrs.  Knox.  I  think  I  could  man- 
age those  six  boys.     I  like  little  boys.' 

HAPPY,  PROGRESSIVE  TEACHERS 

"  The  exchange  of  classes  was  effected,  and  the  fol- 
lowing Sunday  morning  found  this  girl  with  this 
troublesome  class  of  little  boys.  She  greeted  each 
with  a  winning  smile,  and,  when  a  hymn  was  an- 
nounced, she  said,  *  Now,  boys,  let  us  see  if  we  can't 
sing  better  than  those  girls  over  there.'  They  did. 
She  won  them  completely,  and  that  class  of  boys  be- 
came the  best  class  in  the  department. 

^'Another  type  to  avoid  is  the  teacher  who  is  always 
discouraged,  who  needs  constant  attention,  and  who 
wants  to  be  coaxed  to  continue  her  work.  It  takes 
much  flattery  to  keep  her  working.  Such  a  teacher  is 
enough  to  wreck  the  nerves  of  any  superintendent. 

"  Last  of  all,  beware  of  the  teacher  who  knows  so 
much  she  can  learn  no  more,  who  has  no  use  for  in- 
formation along  any  line  of  Sunday  school  work,  and 
who  will  not  accept  suggestions.  When  they  reach 
that  stage,  they  are  impossible,  absolutely  hopeless. 

"  Now  let  us  sum  up  the  qualifications  of  a  good 
Junior  teacher.  First,  let  us  say  that  she  must  have  a 
winning  personality.  Second,  she  ought  to  have  some 
knowledge  of  the  characteristics  of  Juniors.  Third, 
she  should  have  faith  in  the  spiritual  possibilities  of 
each  boy  and  girl.  Fourth,  she  ought  to  be  willing  to 
cooperate  in  every  way  possible  with  the  superin- 
tendent, the  teachers,  and  the  officers. 


Finding  Good  Teachers  41 

"  The  age  does  not  always  enter  into  consideration 
in  the  selection  of  a  teacher.  I  usually  prefer  an 
experienced  teacher  for  Juniors,  but  I  have  known 
high-school  students  to  make  better  teachers  than 
some  who  have  had  years  of  experience.  If  you  can 
place  an  energetic  high-school  girl  as  an  assistant 
under  a  capable  teacher,  it  is  a  splendid  training  for 
her." 

"  Do  you  think  the  boys*  classes  should  have  men 
for  teachers,  Mrs.  Richards?"  '*  Yes,  Mrs.  Jackson, 
if  you  can  find  the  right  men.  A  boy  naturally  imi- 
tates the  man  he  has  chosen  as  his  hero." 

"  I  have  thought  perhaps  that,  if  there  were  no  men 
in  the  department,  the  boys  would  get  the  idea  that 
Sunday  school  was  only  a  place  for  women  and  chil- 
dren." "  No,  I  hardly  think  they  will  get  that  im- 
pression until  they  are  a  little  older.  You  see  they  are 
under  authority  of  women  in  the  public  school,  so, 
while  it  would  be  ideal  to  have  men  teach  the  older 
boys,  it  is  not  of  vital  importance." 

"  I  shall  certainly  be  very  careful  before  I  invite 
anyone  to  teach  a  Sunday  school  class.  I  did  not 
realize  the  full  importance  of  looking  for  just  the  right 
kind  of  a  teacher."  "  You  are  right,  Mrs.  Jackson.  I 
am  impressed  more  and  more  with  the  great  truth  in 
the  statement  that  '  the  teacher  is  the  hinge  on  which 
the  Sunday  school  swings.'  " 

**  I  thank  you,  Mrs.  Richards.  You  have  helped  me 
greatly."  "  I  am  very  glad  you  called,  Mrs.  Jackson, 
and  I  wish  you  success  in  this  new  work  you  have 
undertaken.  If  we  always  remember  that  we  9.rQ 
'  laborers  together  with  God '  the  task  is  lighter." 


42  Our  Junior  Department 


Criticism  and  Discussion 

1.  Some  of  the  reasons  why  it  is  difficult  to  find 
Junior  teachers  are  the  following:  (1)  The  impression 
that  exists  that  Juniors  are  more  difficult  to  manage 
than  pupils  either  younger  or  older.  (2)  Juniors, 
primarily  because  of  their  slow  growth,  have  more 
energy  than  others  for  the  creation  of  disorder,  unless 
it  is  properly  controlled  and  directed.  If  the  super- 
intendent and  the  teachers  understand  the  Juniors  and 
deal  wisely  with  them,  they  will  find  them  to  be  more 
easily  managed  than  pupils  of  any  other  age. 

2.  Then,  of  course,  it  is  difficult  to  find  Junior 
teachers  for  the  same  reason  that  it  is  difficult  to  find 
good  teachers  for  any  classes  in  the  Sunday  school. 
The  church  as  a  whole  does  not  value  teaching  as  it 
should,  and  does  not  show  proper  appreciation  of  its 
teachers.  Teaching  involves  much  hard  work  and  the 
living  of  a  good  life,  and  the  church-members  who  are 
willing  to  pay  the  price  are  not  very  numerous  in  any 
church.  Probably  the  chief  reason  for  the  shortage 
of  teachers  is  that  our  church-members  have  not  been 
trained  to  teach,  and  therefore  do  not  know  how  to 
teach. 

3.  The  main  thing  to  be  said,  therefore,  is  that  we 
must  select  our  Junior  teachers  three,  four,  and  five 
years  before  we  expect  to  use  them,  and  give  them 
some  adequate  training  for  the  work.  Every  Sunday 
school  should  have  a  group  of  its  brightest  young 
people  in  training  for  teaching.  This  training-class 
might  very  well  meet  at  the  Sunday  school  hour,  hav- 
ing as  the  Sunday  school  lesson  a  special  training- 


Finding  Good  Teachers  43 

lesson  in  psychology-,  or  pedagogy,  or  organization,  or 
some  other  phase  of  teacher-training.  The  young 
people  also  should  be  induced  to  attend  conventions, 
institutes,  assemblies,  and  training-schools.  It  is 
through  such  agencies  that  God  calls  young  people  to 
the  teaching  task  and  privilege. 

4.  In  meeting  the  immediate,  pressing  need  for 
teachers,  the  superintendent  should  be  on  the  alert  to 
discover  possible  teachers  among  the  newcomers, 
scrutinizing  those  who  join  the  church  from  time  to 
time  with  a  view  to  finding  someone  who  might  be 
enlisted  as  teachers.  Sometimes  also  there  are  those 
who  have  been  living  in  the  community,  and  who  have 
not  been  actively  identified  with  the  Sunday  school, 
who  might  be  enlisted  if  properly  approached.  There 
may  be  available  a  public-school  teacher  or  a  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  worker. 

5.  As  a  rule,  it  is  not  wise  to  appoint  anyone  as  a 
permanent  teacher  at  the  start.  It  is  better  practice 
to  "  try  out "  teachers,  both  for  their  own  sakes  and 
the  pupils'  sakes.  Ask  the  prospective  teacher  to  act 
as  a  supply  teacher,  and  give  him  or  her  and  the  class 
an  opportunity  to  find  out  whether  or  not  they  are 
suited  to  each  other  before  either  he  or  the  superin- 
tendent has  committed  himself.  Then  there  will  be 
no  embarrassment  in  case  it  does  not  seem  advisable 
that  a  permanent  relationship  be  established. 

6.  After  a  teacher  has  been  appointed  as  a  perma- 
nent teacher,  it  is  advisable  to  conduct  a  simple,  im- 
pressive inaugural  service  in  the  assembly-period. 
This  magnifies  the  teaching-function  in  the  thinking 
of  both  the  teacher  and  the  members  of  the  class.    It 


44  Our  Junior  Department 

develops  appreciation  of  the  work  of  the  teacher  on 
the  part  of  the  members  of  the  department.  There 
may  be  first  a  sympathetic  statement  by  the  superin- 
tendent, and  then  a  prayer  for  the  teacher  and  the 
class,  followed  by  the  singing  of  an  appropriate  song. 

7.  It  is  of  the  highest  importance  that  the  superin- 
tendent show,  in  every  way  possible,  cordial  apprecia- 
tion of  the  teachers — in  attitude,  in  word,  in  prayer, 
and  in  conduct.  The  superintendent  should  see  that 
there  is  held  regularly  a  departmental  conference,  in 
which  there  is  a  real  interchange  of  sympathy,  sug- 
gestion, and  appreciation.  The  superintendent  should 
not  say,  "  This  is  what  I  have  decided  to  do,  and  what 
do  you  think  about  it?  "  but  should,  as  a  rule,  seek  to 
get  full  and  frank  expression  from  the  teachers  first 
with  regard  to  the  problems  and  needs  of  the  depart- 
ment. The  superintendent  should  court  criticism,  and 
profit  by  it.  The  superintendent  should  be  a  leader, 
but  not  a  boss,  and  should  bring  all  the  teachers  to 
feel  that  they  are  real  coworkers  with  him.  He  should 
try  tactfully  to  get  them  to  conscientiously  assume 
their  proportionate  share  of  responsibility  and  to  give 
of  their  best  thought  and  service  in  real  cooperation. 
Through  a  departmental  conference,  properly  utilized, 
the  teachers  are  made  to  realize  the  importance  of 
their  work,  and  there  is  developed  in  them  a  depart- 
mental esprit  de  corps. 

8.  Read,  in  "The  Junior  Worker  and  Work,"  the 
following  chapters:  Organization  and  Management 
and  The  Teacher's  Work  Between  Sundays.  Read 
Chapter  XI,  The  Monthly  Workers'  Meeting,  in  *'  The 
Juniors :  How  to  Teach  and  Train  Them." 


CHAPTER  IV 
HOW  TO  TEACH  JUNIORS 

At  the  close  of  a  Junior  conference  one  evening  in 
April,  Mrs.  Richards  made  the  following  announce- 
ment :  "  The  State  Sunday  School  Convention  will  be 
held  in  this  city  next  week,  and  this  will  be  a  great 
opportunity  for  us.  I  am  especially  interested  in  the 
Junior  conferences  to  be  conducted  by  Miss  Lola  Sher- 
wood, who  has  a  national  reputation  as  a  Junior 
specialist." 

After  some  discussion,  all  the  teachers  of  the  depart- 
ment agreed  to  attend  the  convention. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  convention  Miss  Sherwood 
gave  a  splendid  lecture  on  "  Methods  of  Teaching," 
and  this  was  followed  by  departmental  conferences, 
with  Miss  Sherwood  in  charge  of  the  Junior  confer- 
ence. 

She  said :  "  We  have  one  hour  to  devote  to  Junior 
work.  Let  us  make  the  best  possible  use  of  our  time. 
I  shall  try  to  answer  questions  on  any  subject  pertain- 
ing to  Junior  work.  Who  will  be  the  first  to  ask 
one?" 

USE  MANY  METHODS 

Delegate  Number  One :  "  Miss  Sherwood,  you  spoke 
of  the  various  methods  of  teaching.  What  do  you 
consider  the  best  method  for  teaching  Juniors?" 

45 


46  Our  Junior  Department 

Miss  Sherwood :  "  I  do  not  consider  any  one  method 
best.  In  teaching  Juniors,  you  will  sometimes  find  it 
necessary  to  combine  several  methods  in  the  teaching 
of  one  lesson.  To  be  a  successful  teacher,  you  must 
use  pictures  and  objects,  blackboard,  maps,  stories, 
drills,  etc.  ' 

"  I  don't  mean,  of  course,  that  all  these  will  be  used 
with  any  one  lesson.  With  one  lesson  you  might 
want  to  use  the  question-and-answer  method  chiefly. 
With  another  lesson  you  might  draw  on  the  black- 
board, locating  the  city  or  the  places  connected  with 
the  lesson,  and  build  around  that  your  lesson-teaching. 
With  another  lesson,  you  could  begin  with  the  story 
of  the  new  lesson,  and  follow  this  with  questions  or 
map-work,  or  with  some  sort  of  expressional  work  by 
the  pupils.  It  depends  on  the  material  used  and  the 
children  taught  as  to  the  method  used.  With  an  occa- 
sional lesson,  it  will  be  well  to  begin  with  an  extra- 
biblical  story  that  has  in  it  the  same  teaching  as  the 
Bible  lesson.  Whatever  the  method  there  must  be  a 
large  measure  of  participation  by  the  pupils." 

MORE  THAN  TALK  BY  TEACHER 

Delegate  Number  Two :  "  I  have  only  thirty  minutes 
for  my  class,  and  I  don't  have  time  for  any  questions, 
and  I  think  the  teacher  should  make  good  use  of  the 
time.  I  am  sure  I  do,  and  /  use  it  all  in  explaining 
the  Scriptures,  verse  by  verse.  If  I  stopped  to  use  the 
blackboard,  I  would  never  have  time  to  get  over  all  the 
Scripture  and  explain  it  thoroughly." 

Miss   Sherwood :   **  Then  you   give   the  Junior  no 


Hoiv  to  Teach  Juniors  47 

chance  for  self-expression.  That  is  a  mistake.  Some- 
one has  said,  *  Inexpression  mentally  is  the  same  as 
indigestion  physically.'  You  say  you  explain  the 
Scripture  thoroughly,  but  how  do  you  know  you  do, 
if  you  do  not  allow  the  child  to  ask  questions  or  to 
express  himself  in  any  way?  You  may  understand,  but 
how  do  you  test  the  child?  You  may  preach  at  him 
thirty  minutes,  but  do  you  teach  him? 

"  It  is  characteristic  of  the  Junior  that  he  likes  to 
do  things.  He  should  be  given  a  chance  in  some  part 
of  the  lesson-period  to  ask  questions,  or  to  tell  part  of 
the  lesson-story,  or  to  impersonate  one  of  the  charac- 
ters in  the  lesson,  or  to  tell  of  some  particular  way  in 
which  he  has  helped  to  serve  Jesus  during  the  past 
week. 

"  Juniors  like  to  tell  about  the  things  they  do,  and 
isn't  this  the  only  way  we  can  know  whether  or  not 
they  are  trying  to  live  and  do  the  things  we  are  trying 
to  teach  them?  It  has  been  said,  '  What  a  child  sees 
he  sometimes  forgets,  what  a  child  hears  he  often  for- 
gets, but  what  a  child  does  he  rarely  forgets.'  So, 
teachers,  do  not  do  it  all.  Let  the  Junior  have  a  part 
in  the  lesson  period." 

PICTURES  IN  TEACHING 

Delegate  Number  Three :  "  Please,  may  I  say  a  word 
here?  I  was  interested  in  your  lecture  this  morning 
and  in  what  you  had  to  say  about  the  use  of  pictures 
in  teaching.  I  had  an  experience  recently  that  taught 
me  a  lesson  I  shall  not  soon  forget.  I  had  never  be- 
fore fully  realized  the  power  of  the  *  silent  lessons  ' 


48  Our  Junior  Department 

pictures  teach,  and  how  they  save  a  child  from  the 
crudities  of  his  own  imagination. 

"  I  was  looking  over  the  work-book  of  a  ten-year-old 
Junior,  and  came  to  the  lesson  '  Jesus  Dining  in  the 
House  of  Simon  the  Pharisee.'  One  of  the  search- 
questions  asked  in  the  work-book  was,  '  How  was  it 
possible  to  anoint  the  feet  of  Jesus  while  he  was  at  the 
dinner-table  ? ' 

"  To  be  pasted  in  the  work-book  for  the  lesson  that 
day  w^as  a  picture  of  the  guests  reclining  at  the  table 
in  Simon's  home,  but  the  child  had  lost  the  picture, 
and  this  was  the  answer  he  gave :  '  I  suppose  she 
crawled  under  the  table.'  I  realized  then  the  impor- 
tance of  pictures,  and  also  the  necessity  of  teaching 
the  lesson  first  and  then  giving  the  Junior  his  home 
work  to  do." 

Miss  Sherwood :  "  Yes,  your  experience  emphasizes 
the  importance  of  explaining  to  the  Junior  the  customs 
and  habits  of  the  Bible  people.  It  is  the  only  way  of 
making  the  characters  real  and  their  teaching  of  value 
to  the  boys  and  girls." 

Delegate  Number  Four :  "  Do  you  think  we  should 
urge  the  Juniors  to  stay  for  church  ?  " 

Miss  Sherwood :  "  I  certainly  do.  This  has  been 
called  the  habit-forming  age.  What  better  habit  can 
we  help  the  Junior  to  form  than  to  remain  for  worship 
in  the  house  of  God.  The  Junior  should  help  in  sing- 
ing the  great  hymns  of  the  church  and  should  help 
read  the  responsive  Scripture  passages,  and  to  find  the 
text  of  the  sermon  in  his  own  Bible,  and  perhaps  take 
a  few  notes  on  the  sermon.  I  knew  a  Junior  superin- 
tendent who  would  take  a  few  minutes  each  Sunday 


How  to  Teach  Juniors  49 

morning  at  Sunday  school  for  the  Juniors  to  tell  of 
something  of  interest  from  the  sermon  the  previous 
Sunday.  It  was  surprising  how  much  they  could  tell, 
and  the  interest  it  created." 


CORRELATION  OF  JUNIOR  AGENCIES 

Delegate  Number  Five :  "  Miss  Sherwood,  I  am  not 
a  Sunday  school  worker,  but  have  charge  of  the  Junior 
Epworth  League,  and  I  have  trouble  with  the  memory 
work.  The  boys  and  girls  all  say  they  have  too  much 
of  that  in  Sunday  school,  and  won't  work  for  me. 
Should  I  insist  or  not?  I  don't  think  the  Sunday 
school  should  do  all  the  training." 

Delegate  Number  Six :  **  I  have  charge  of  the  Junior 
B.  Y.  P.  U.,  and  we  have  the  same  teachers  for  Sun- 
day school  and  B.  Y.  P.  U.,  so  they  know  just  what  to 
plan  for  each  session.  Our  only  trouble  is  in  the  at- 
tendance; we  have  only  about  one-fourth  the  atten- 
dance of  the  Sunday  school." 

Delegate  Number  Seven :  "  We  conduct  our  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  much  the  same  as  this  B.  Y.  P.  U. 
superintendent  does,  using  the  Sunday  school  workers 
in  the  C.  E.,  but  the  children  are  being  organized  into 
mission  bands  and  temperance  bands,  and  some  of  the 
parents  object  to  so  much,  and  besides  we  don't  get  all 
the  good  teaching  to  all  the  children." 

Miss  Sherwood :  "  Junior  workers,  you  see  the  need 
for  cooperation  among  the  leaders  of  children's  work. 
Mission  bands,  Sunday  school,  temperance  bands,  Sun- 
day afternoon  or  evening  societies,  the  teaching  in  all 
are  of  vital  importance  to  the  Junior.     Why  can't  we 

D 


50  Our  Junior  Department 

all  join  hands  and  work  together?  If  those  who  are 
responsible  for  the  teaching  of  missions,  those  who  are 
responsible  for  the  teaching  of  temperance,  and  the 
Sunday  school  workers,  etc.,  could  decide  upon  one 
Junior  course  of  study,  covering  all  the  subjects  to  be 
taught,  how  much  better  it  would  be? 

"  All  this  work  cannot  be  taken  care  of  in  the  Sun- 
day school  alone,  as  it  is  now  organized ;  nor  in  your 
Epworth  League,  your  B.  Y.  P.  U.,  or  your  C.  E. ; 
nor  in  all  of  them  together.  Consequently,  there  are 
being  developed  week-day  schools  of  religious  educa- 
tion and  summer  vacation  Bible  schools.  Out  of  our 
experimentation  and  our  efforts  to  properly  correlate 
the  various  educational  organizations,  there  will  come 
a  new  and  better  school  of  the  church. 

"  Our  time  is  up,  and  we  must  close  promptly,  and 
not  interfere  with  the  next  session." 

Criticism  and  Discussion 

1.  Was  Miss  Sherwood  right  in  saying  that  there  is 
no  one  best  method  of  teaching  Juniors  ?  May  we  not 
go  further  and  say  that  any  one  method,  no  matter 
how  good,  if  used  every  Sunday,  becomes  in  time  a 
bad  method  ?  Variety  here  is  the  spice  of  life,  and  the 
hope  of  life.  Keep  the  Juniors  guessing.  Keep  their 
curiosity  alive,  if  you  want  real  attention. 

2.  One  skilful  teacher  of  Juniors  says :  "  Beware  of 
questions  at  the  beginning  of  the  teaching  period. 
First  do  something  or  say  something  yourself  that  will 
get  attention  and  arouse  interest.  As  a  rule,  begin  it 
with  the  lesson  itself,  and  present  it  interestingly,  with 
story,  or  picture,  or  object,  or  map,  or  blackboard,  etc. 


How  to  Teach  Juniors  51 

Do  not  lead  up  to  the  lesson  gradually  with  a  series 
of  questions,  with  the  idea  of  finding  the  point  of  con- 
tact. Begin  with  the  lesson  itself,  with  the  teaching 
unit,  the  one  practical  truth  that  you  want  to  teach, 
and  do  that  in  a  fresh,  vital  way,  and  the  point  of  con- 
tact will  take  care  of  itself.  If  it  does  not,  then  you 
can  make  any  necessary  connections  with  what  the 
pupils  already  know,  after  you  get  the  new  lesson  be- 
fore them. 

3.  What  do  you  think  of  Miss  Sherwood's  emphasis 
on  self-expression  on  the  part  of  the  pupils?  It  is 
well,  then,  to  keep  in  mind  that  we  are  not  training 
Juniors  for  life,  but  that  we  are  training  them  in  life. 
The  best  way  to  get  them  ready  for  life  in  the  years 
to  come  is  to  help  them  to  live  joyous,  useful  Christian 
lives  now.  Therefore,  it  is  of  the  highest  importance 
to  make  much  of  self-expression  in  the  class  by  having 
them  to  ask  and  answer  questions ;  by  having  them  to 
study  and  to  dramatize  the  stories ;  by  having  them  to 
make  things  that  will  strengthen  impressions ;  and  by 
having  them  to  cooperate  in  the  making  of  things  that 
can  be  put  to  some  good  use  by  others  on  a  mission 
field  or  elsewhere.  It  is  important  also  to  seek  to 
influence  and  to  take  account  of  their  various  week- 
day activities,  and  to  direct  the  class  occasionally  in 
rendering  some  needed  and  suitable  community  ser- 
vice. 

4.  In  connection  with  what  has  been  said  in  this 
chapter  In  regard  to  the  use  of  pictures  with  Juniors, 
a  word  should  be  said  concerning  the  use  of  pictures 
on  the  walls  of  the  assembly-room  and  the  classrooms. 
These  pictures  should  be  carefully  selected,  and  should 


52  Our  Junior  Department 

be  changed  every  three  months,  through  an  exchange 
arrangement  with  the  Junior  departments  of  other 
schools.  When  a  new  picture  is  placed  in  an  assem- 
bly-room or  a  classroom,  it  should  be  done  impres- 
sively, with  some  simple  ceremony  and  the  telling  of 
some  appropriate  teaching-story. 

5.  What  is  the  relation  of  the  work  being  done  in 
the  Junior  Department  of  your  Sunday  school  to  that 
which  is  being  done  in  other  Junior  organizations  in 
your  church?  Is  there  duplication  of  effort  and  waste 
of  energy?  Is  there  not  something  you  can  do  to 
remedy  the  situation  ?  If  the  whole  educational  work 
in  your  church  is  not  properly  correlated,  might  it  not 
be  wise  for  you  to  arrange  for  and  to  have  called  a 
meeting  of  all  the  Junior  leaders  of  the  church  for 
conference? 

6.  In  some  Junior  departments  it  is  advisable  to 
teach  the  teachers  definitely  how  to  teach  the  lessons, 
and  to  utilize  a  part  of  the  time  of  the  weekly  depart- 
mental conference  for  the  purpose.  The  superin- 
tendent, or  someone  else  who  is  competent,  gives  the 
teachers  specific  instructions  regarding  the  effective 
handling  of  the  three  or  four  graded  lessons  on  the 
following  Sunday. 

7.  Of  course  Junior  superintendents  and  teachers 
must  attend  conventions,  institutes,  conferences,  and 
assemblies,  in  order  to  gain  practical  help  and  inspira- 
tion. Of  course  they  must  read  magazines  of  prin- 
ciples and  methods.  Of  course  each  of  them  must  read 
an  average  of  at  least  one  good  book  on  Junior  wor]«: 
every  three  months.  Of  course  they  must  visit  other 
good  Junior  departments. 


How  to  Teach  Juniors  53 

8.  Read  "  The  Sunday  School  Worker  "  regularly. 
Read  the  first  three  chapters  in  **  The  Junior  Worker 
and  Work."  Read  also  Chapters  XII,  XIII,  and  XXI 
in  the  same  book.  Read  "  The  Blackboard  Class,"  by 
Darnell.  Read  "  The  Use  of  Projects  in  Religious 
Education,"  by  Hartley.  Read  "  Story-Telling  Les- 
sons," by  Tralle. 


CHAPTER  V 
TEACHING  MISSIONS  TO  JUNIORS 

After  a  few  chords  of  soft  music,  Mrs.  Richards 
stepped  quietly  to  the  platform.  "  Let  us  all  stand 
and  repeat  the  *  Great  Love '  verse,"  and  all  repeated 
in  unison,  "  For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on 
him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 

"Where  do  we  find  this  verse?"  and  all  answered, 
"  John  3  :  16."  "  You  may  be  seated  now.  Boys  and 
girls,  we  have  a  visitor  with  us  today,  Mrs.  Van 
Deventer,  from  the  First  Christian  Church,  and  she  is 
going  to  tell  us  a  story." 

THE  STORY  OF  A  HINDU  GIRL 

"  Karuni  was  a  little  Hindu  girl,  who  lived  in  India 
with  her  father  and  mother,  and  with  her  two  brothers, 
who  loved  her  dearly. 

"  It  was  unusual  for  a  little  girl  twelve  years  old  to 
be  living  at  home,  for  it  is  the  custom  in  India  for 
little  girls  to  marry  before  they  reach  that  age,  and 
then  they  must  live  as  slaves  in  the  homes  of  their 
husbands. 

"  One  morning,  while  Karuni  was  playing  in  the 
courtyard,  she  heard  her  mother  calling,  *  Karuni, 
where  are  your  brothers  ? '  *  They  have  gone  to  take 
54 


Teaching  Missions  to  Juniors  55 

the  grain  to  market,  mother.'  *  Then  come  quickly, 
for  we  are  going  to  take  a  journey.'  *  Where,  mother, 
where?  '     *  To  the  home  of  your  uncle.' 

"  This  did  not  please  Karuni,  for  she  did  not  like 
her  uncle.     He  was  old  and  cross  and  ugly. 

''  Little  did  she  dream  that,  years  before,  she  had 
been  pledged  by  the  priest  to  this  very  uncle,  and, 
because  her  brothers  had  loved  her  so  dearly,  they  had 
refused  to  allow  the  ceremony  to  be  finished. 

"  But  the  mother,  anxious  to  gain  favor  with  the 
priests,  seized  this  opportunity,  while  the  brothers 
were  away,  to  finish  the  marriage. 

"  '  Come  quickly,  Karuni,  bring  the  cheese  and  sweet 
butter,  while  I  get  some  fruit  to  put  in  our  lunch- 
basket.' 

"  The  ox-cart  man  soon  arrived,  and  Karuni  and 
her  mother  climbed  into  the  cart  and  started  on  the 
way. 

"  After  a  long,  tiresome  journey  in  the  bumpy  cart, 
they  reached  the  uncle's  home.  Karuni  was  fast 
asleep,  and  her  mother  carried  her  into  the  house. 

"  The  next  morning,  when  Karuni  awakened,  she 
saw  that  the  house  was  decorated  for  a  wedding,  and 
she  was  so  frightened  she  called,  *  Mother,  oh, 
mother !' 

'' '  Your  mother  has  gone  home,  and  we  are  to  dress 
you  for  the  wedding,'  said  one  of  the  women. 

"  Karuni  cried  loud  and  long,  and  would  not  let  any- 
one dress  her.  At  last  they  sent  for  the  priest,  and  he 
took  her  to  the  temple. 

"  When  they  brought  her  back,  there  were  ugly  red 
lines  burned  on  her  forehead  and  eyelids. 


56  Our  Junior  Department 

*'  Poor  little  Karuni  was  married.  No  more  play  for 
her.     Just  long  days  of  hard  work  as  a  slave. 

"  One  day,  when  she  was  going  to  the  well  for 
water,  she  noticed  a  group  of  women,  and  she  stopped 
to  see  what  they  were  doing.  In  the  center  of  this 
group  was  a  strange-looking  woman  with  a  white  face, 
talking  to  them. 

"  Karuni  had  never  seen  such  a  beautiful  face.  She 
looked  happy,  and  Karuni  had  never  seen  a  happy 
woman.  As  she  listened  she  heard  strange  words 
about  a  god  named  Jesus,  who  really  loved  little  girls. 

"  Something  strange  and  beautiful  filled  Karuni's 
heart  as  she  listened.  She  forgot  to  hurry  home  with 
the  heavy  jug  of  water  until  she  heard  her  aunt  calling. 

"  When  she  reached  the  door,  one  of  the  older  wives 
said  angrily,  *  Why  have  you  been  so  long  getting  that 
jug  of  water?* 

"  '  Oh,  aunt,  I  have  been  listening  to  the  most  beau- 
tiful woman,  and  she  said  there  was  a  God.'  *  Ah !  so 
that  is  what  you  have  been  doing !  I  will  see  that  you 
get  the  beating  you  deserve.' 

"  Although  she  suffered  dreadfully  from  the  beating, 
the  beautiful  thought  of  the  wonderful  God  never 
left  her  mind,  and  again  the  next  day  she  went  to  the 
well. 

"  The  beautiful  lady  was  there  again,  and  she  was 
reading  from  a  little  book,  '  For  God  so  loved  the 
world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whoso- 
ever believeth  on  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life.'  Then  she  said  that  'whosoever* 
meant  girls  and  women  as  well  as  men. 

"  Karuni  hurried  home,  but  her  husband  had  missed 


Teaching  Missions  to  Juniors  57 

her,  and,  guessing  where  she  had  been,  met  her  at  the 
door  and  loudly  said,  '  Have  you  been  listening  to  that 
foreign     woman    again?'      *  Yes,     she     is    beautiful 

and '    '  I  will  tie  you  to  the  rafters  by  your  thumbs, 

and  then  I  know  you  will  not  go  again/ 

''  How  long  she  had  been  hanging  there  Karuni 
never  knew.  Suddenly  she  heard  a  voice  near  her 
saying,  '  Come,  Karuni,  we  will  go  and  live  at  the 
mission. 

**  It  was  one  of  the  women  that  had  been  at  the  well 
and  had  listened  to  the  missionary,  and  had  come  in 
the  night  to  save  Karuni. 

"  The  kind  missionary  was  glad  to  have  them  come 
to  her,  and  Karuni  was  happy  to  find  a  home  where 
she  was  loved  and  where  she  could  learn  more  about 
the  wonderful  God  who  loved  little  girls. 

"  One  of  the  verses  she  learned  from  the  mission- 
ary's *  little  book  '  was  *  Be  ye  doers  of  the  Word,  and 
not  hearers  only.' 

"  Karuni  is  studying  hard,  so  she  can  go  back  to  tell 
the  story  of  Jesus  to  the  other  little  girls  of  India  who 
are  still  slaves." 

SINGING  AND  PRAYER 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  telling  of  the  story,  Mrs. 
Richards  said,  "  Let  us  turn  to  page  ten  in  our  singing- 
books,  and  stand  while  we  sing.  Listen  for  the  chord 
from  the  piano.     Now  everybody  sing." 

Go  ye  among  all  nations,  go  ye  across  the  sea, 

Go  ye  to  far-off  islands,  and  tell  of  me; 

Tell  those  who  live  in  darkness,  who  bow  to  brass  and  stone. 

Tell  every  race  and  color,  they  are  my  own. 


58  Our  Junior  Department 

We  hear  the  words  of  Jesus,  we  read  them  in  his  word; 

We  will  help  tell  the  story  of  Christ  the  Lord. 

We'll  tell  he  is  the  Savior,  his  love  is  untold, 

Tell  Jesus  is  the  Savior  of  all  the  world. 

Someone  must  cross  the  ocean,  someone  say,  "  I  will  go  " ; 

Someone  tell  Jesus'  message,  that  they  may  know. 

We  all  may  share  the  voyage,  the  joy  of  service  too; 

For  prayers  and  gifts  are  needed.    This  we  can  do. 

"  We  will  all  bow  our  heads  in  prayer.  '  Dear 
heavenly  Father,  we  are  so  thankful  that  even  the  boys 
and  girls  can  help,  with  their  gifts  and  prayers,  to  send 
the  message  of  thy  wonderful  love  and  care  to  the 
people  in  the  far-away  lands,  who  know  nothing  about 
thee,  and  who  in  their  ignorance  are  so  cruel  to  the 
little  children  in  their  homes.  We  would  ask  thee  to 
bless  the  good  missionaries  who  are  working  in  India 
today  and  are  telling  the  story  of  Jesus  to  those  who 
have  never  heard  it  before.  Make  us  more  generous 
with  our  gifts  and  more  faithful  with  our  prayers,  that 
the  missionaries  may  do  a  greater  and  better  work. 
Amen.'     You  may  now  pass  quietly  to  your  classes." 

"  Would  you  like  to  visit  in  one  of  the  classes,  Mrs. 
Van  Deventer?"  "No,  I  would  rather  have  a  short 
conference  with  you,  if  you  have  the  time."  "  I  shall 
be  glad  to  talk  a  few  minutes.  I  am  not  needed  this 
morning.  All  the  teachers  and  officers  are  present.  I 
want  to  tell  you  that  we  greatly  appreciate  your  com- 
ing to  us  with  this  good  story.  I  think  the  story- 
telling method  is  the  best  way  to  teach  missions."  "  I 
think  so  too,  and  another  good  way  is  through  Bible 
verses.     What  memory  verses  do  you  use?" 

"  Some  of  the  best  missionary  verses  for  Juniors,  I 


Teaching  Missions  to  Juniors  59 

think,  are  Mark  16  :  15  ;  Matthew  5:16;  Acts  22  :  15  ; 
John  13  :  35 ;  Matthew  10  :  8b ;  Matthew  22  :  37-39, 
and  the  ones  we  used  in  this  service." 

"  When  do  you  take  the  missionary  offering,  Mrs. 
Richards?"  *' Once  a  month.  We  used  to  set  aside 
a  percentage  of  the  offering  each  Sunday,  but  I  find 
the  children  like  to  have  their  offerings  go  to  missions 
the  day  we  have  the  missionary  program." 

"  How  readily  Juniors  respond  if  we  but  awaken  an 
interest,  and  they  so  enjoy  '  doing  things.'  I  must  go 
now,  Mrs.  Richards.  It  has  indeed  been  a  pleasure  to 
meet  you  and  all  your  Juniors.  Good-bye."  "  Good- 
bye.   Come  again,  Mrs.  Van  Deventer.'' 

Criticism  and  Discussion 

1.  Here  is  a  fine  suggestion  for  the  teaching  of  mis- 
sions in  a  properly  graded,  skilfully  arranged  order  of 
worship.  Such  an  order  of  worship  is  far  more  than 
mere  '*  opening  exercises."  It  becomes  a  "  teaching- 
period,"  just  as  truly  as  is  the  class  period.  Of  course 
there  will  be  missionary  teaching  in  the  teaching- 
period.  A  number  of  the  graded  lessons  are  mission- 
ary lessons,  and,  in  connection  with  the  other  lessons, 
there  may  be  used  some  missionary  illustrations  and 
stories.  At  the  same  time  the  order  of  worship  fre- 
quently should  be  distinctively  missionary  in  its  char- 
acter. In  some  Junior  departments  there  is  a  mission- 
ary order  of  worship  about  once  a  month. 

2.  Note  that  this  order  of  worship  consists  chiefly 
of  a  story.  Here  too  is  a  fine  suggestion.  In  many 
a  Junior  order  of  worship  there  is  too  much  material. 


60  Our  Junior  Department 

It  is  better  not  to  have  so  much  and  to  make  the  most 
of  the  materials  that  are  used. 

3.  There  should  be  a  frequent  use  of  good  teaching- 
stories  in  the  orders  of  worship.  Stories  are  more  in- 
teresting than  anything  else  that  goes  into  the  making 
of  an  order  of  worship.  They  appeal  strongly  to  the 
imagination,  and  develop  a  sense  of  reality.  They 
develop  desirable  emotions  and  senses  of  value.  They 
visualize  standards  of  action,  and  become  effective 
motives  in  the  Junior's  life  and  activities. 

4.  Observe  that  there  was  no  song  at  the  beginning 
of  this  order  of  worship.  Very  frequently  it  is  desira- 
ble to  begin  with  something  other  than  singing,  for 
the  sake  of  variety  and  interest  and  effectiveness.  To 
begin  with  three  songs,  one  after  the  other,  as  is  done 
in  some  Junior  departments  Sunday  after  Sunday,  is 
inexcusable.  It  develops  formality  rather  than 
vitality. 

5.  Note  that  everything  in  this  order  of  worship  is 
missionary  in  character,  fitting  into  the  idea  contained 
in  the  story,  so  that  it  is  possible  to  make  a  single, 
definite,  strong  impression.  This  is  the  only  way  to 
do  the  best  teaching  through  an  order  of  worship. 

6.  Observe  that  the  story-teller  did  not  stop  during 
the  telling  of  the  story  to  ask  questions  and  to  indulge 
in  "  preaching."  And  when  the  story  ended,  it 
stopped.  There  was  no  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
story-teller  to  explain  the  story  to  the  boys  and  girls. 
The  story  had  already  done  its  own  explaining,  and 
made  its  own  impression.  Nor  did  the  superintendent 
say,  "  We  are  so  thankful  to  Mrs.  Deventer  for  this 
story"  or  "How  did  you  like  that  story?"     Instead, 


Teaching  Missions  to  Juniors  61 

she  left  the  story  to  do  its  own  teaching,  and  quietly 
led  the  department  in  the  singing  of  a  song  which 
would  tend  to  deepen  the  impression  of  the  story. 

7.  Observe  how  many  quotation  marks  there  are  in 
this  story.  This  large  use  of  direct  discourse,  in  con- 
nection with  impersonation  and  imitation  in  the  telling, 
enabled  the  Juniors  to  visualize  Karuni,  the  brothers, 
the  mother,  the  husband,  and  the  other  characters,  and 
thus  there  was  developed  in,  them  a  sense  of  reality, 
with  a  strong  appeal  to  the  emotions  and  the  will. 

8.  Read  Tralle's  "Story-Telling  Lessons,"  Eggle- 
ston's  "  The  Use  of  the  Story  in  Religious  Education," 
and  Miller's  "  Dramatization  of  Bible  Stories."  Some 
books  containing  stories  suitable  for  Juniors  are  the 
following:  "World  Stories  Retold,"  Sly;  "Stories  for 
Talks  to  Boys,"  Cheley ;  "  Ethics  for  Children,"  Cabot; 
"  Worth  While  Stories  for  Every  Day,"  Evans.  Read 
the  following:  "Missionary  Education  for  Juniors," 
Hutton ;  "  Graded  Missionary  Instruction  in  the 
Church  School,"  Beard ;  "  Missionary  Program  Ma- 
terial," Ferris.  See  Chapter  XIII,  Missionary  Educa- 
tion, in  "  The  Juniors :  How  to  Teach  and  Train 
Them." 


CHAPTER  VI 
WEEK-DAY  ACTIVITIES 

When  Mrs.  Richards  opened  her  morning's  mail,  she 
found  the  following  letter :  "  My  dear  Mrs.  Richards : 
Can  you  arrange  to  meet  with  our  Junior  teachers  and 
officers  in  our  departmental  conference  next  Friday 
evening?  We  want  you  to  talk  about  *  Week-day 
Activities.'  We  should  appreciate  your  coming  to  us 
very  much,  and  shall  anxiously  await  a  reply.  Sin- 
cerely, your  friend,  Gwen  Harper." 

At  first  Mrs.  Richards  thought :  "  Oh,  that  is  impos- 
sible, I  can  never  talk  to  those  teachers.  Why  don't 
they  get  a  specialist?"  And  then  she  thought  of  a 
little  verse  a  friend  of  hers  had  so  often  used. 

If  you  help  me  and  I  help  you, 

Then  we  are  both  helped,  don't  you  see? 

And  I  am  sure,  and  are  not  you? 

*Tis  what  our  Lord  would  have  us  do. 

So  she  wrote  saying  that  she  would  be  glad  to  at- 
tend the  conference  and  to  help  in  any  way  she  could. 
On  Friday  evening  Mrs.  Richards  arrived  at  the 
church,  and  was  met  at  the  door  by  Miss  Harper. 

After  being  introduced  as  the  speaker  of  the  even- 
ing, Mrs.  Richards  said,  "  My  friends,  I  am  glad  to  be 
with  you  tonight.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  make  a 
speech,  but  shall  just  conduct  a  conference,  as  I  should 
62 


Week-Day  Activities  63 

at  home  with  our  own  teachers.  Miss  Harper  tells  me 
the  subject  for  discussion  this  evening  is  '  Week-day 
Activities.' 

WHY  WEEK-DAY  ACTIVITIES? 

"  In  preparing  for  this  conference,  two  questions 
came  to  my  mind.  Why  should  we  have  Junior  week- 
day activities?  What  kind  of  activities  should  we 
conduct?  Before  we  answer  these  questions,  perhaps 
it  would  be  wise  to  consider  for  a  moment  some  of 
the  characteristics  of  the  Juniors. 

"  Some  writer  has  said,  '  At  this  age  the  child  is  at 
the  height  of  physical  activity.'  And  no  one  has  a 
better  opportunity  than  the  Sunday  school  teacher  to 
discover  just  how  '  full  of  energy  '  the  Junior  really  is. 

"  Teachers  of  psychology  tell  us  that  more  games 
are  played  now  than  at  any  other  time  in  life.  And 
the  Junior's  games  are  games  of  action,  such  as  run- 
ning and  jumping,  skating  and  swimming,  baseball 
and  basket-ball.  Moreover,  the  Juniors  are  able  now 
to  develop  skill  in  playing  their  games,  and  also  to 
play  by  rule. 

"  The  Juniors  are  still  self-centered  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, but  at  the  same  time  the  social  impulses  are 
becoming  strong.  They  want  companions,  and  they 
enjoy  organization.  The  Junior  likes  to  '  belong  to  a 
club  '  or  some  other  organization. 

"  Then  the  Juniors  like  dramatic  play.  Haven't  you 
often  been  asked  by  a  junior  to  '  buy  a  ticket  to  the 
big  circus  '  or  the  *  wild  west  show,'  to  be  held  on  the 
vacant  lot  just  around  the  corner?  I  have,  and  what 
imitation  of  clowns,  policemen,  and  brass  bands ! 


64  Our  Junior  Department 

"  Since  these  things  are  true  of  the  Juniors,  we 
workers  have  an  opportunity  to  provide  for  some 
effective  religious  training  between  Sundays,  through 
properly  organized  and  supervised  week-day  activities. 

"  What  an  excellent  chance  here  for  the  teacher  of 
the  organized  class !  A  week-day  meeting  is  a  good 
reward  for  completed  work  that  the  teacher  has  re- 
quired of  them.  And  what  a  chance  the  teacher  has 
to  get  acquainted  with  and  to  observe  the  Junior  at 
play  with  his  companions.  She  sees  him  then  without 
his  *  Sunday  manners  '  (if  the  Junior  has  any  such 
thing).  The  Junior  will  become  better  acquainted 
with  his  teacher  too. 

"  I  think  the  Junior  will  work  harder  if  the  reward 
offered  for  excellence  is  a  party  than  if  it  is  a  prize  of 
some  sort. 

"  Here  is  a  chance,  in  these  group  activities,  for  the 
teacher  to  help  the  Junior  to  overcome  his  selfishness, 
to  play  the  game  by  rule,  and  to  be  fair  and  honest. 
If  we  correct  the  little,  selfish  faults  of  today  in  this 
way,  it  may  be  that  we  shall  prevent  the  cheating  and 
stealing  of  tomorrow. 

"  Not  alone  do  the  classes  benefit  by  week-day  ac- 
tivities, but  the  department  as  well.  The  Junior 
should  be  loyal  to  the  department  as  well  as  to  his 
class.  So  it  is  necessary  for  the  whole  department  to 
have  several  outings  or  parties  during  the  year. 

"  Again,  we  may  take  advantage  of  our  knowledge 
of  the  Junior  characteristics  in  his  *  desire  to  excel,* 
and  may  use  an  outing  or  social  affair  as  a  reward  in 
a  membership  or  memory  contest,  the  losing  side  to 
entertain  the  winning  side. 


Week-Day  Activities  65 


THREE  AFFAIRS  EACH  YEAR 

"  Almost  any  department  can  manage  three  social 
affairs  each  year  very  nicely.  In  our  own  department 
we  always  have  a  Christmas  party  about  a  week  before 
Christmas.  It  is  always  hard  to  play  games  of  action 
indoors,  but  there  are  a  number  that  are  active  and  yet 
not  too  noisy.  So  we  play  for  about  an  hour,  and  then 
we  have  a  program  in  which  the  boys  and  girls  take 
an  active  part.  We  usually  have  some  good  Christ- 
mas stories  told  by  the  superintendent  or  teachers,  and 
always  provide  some  little  treat. 

"  One  year  we  asked  the  Juniors  to  come  to  the 
church  and  help  decorate  for  the  party.  Tliey  brought 
with  them  various  kinds  of  Christmas  decorations. 
And  how  they  did  enjoy  that  party!  It  was  one  of 
the  happiest  times  we  ever  had.  Don't  make  the  mis- 
take of  '  doing  for  the  junior,'  but  help  him  '  to  do.' 

"  An  outing  in  the  spring  and  one  in  the  fall  will 
appeal  to  the  Juniors'  love  of  nature.  In  the  woods  or 
city  parks,  the  boys  and  girls  can  indulge  in  the  noisy, 
active  games  of  their  liking.  And  what  a  hero  is  the 
teacher  that  can  play  the  game  better  than  the  Junior ! 
Here  again  is  a  chance  for  a  good  story. 

"  I  see  that  some  of  you  smile  when  I  suggest  a 
story  outdoors.  But  you  try  it.  After  an  hour  and  a 
half  of  active  games,  they  are  glad  to  throw  themselves 
upon  the  ground  and  to  rest  and  listen  to  a  good  story- 
teller. Here  is  an  excellent  opportunity  for  the  telling 
of  a  good  teaching-story.  And  also  you  have  the 
group  together,  and  it  is  easier  to  start  them  all  home 
at  once  and  on  time. 

E 


66  Our  Junior  Department 

*'  There  are  many  things  apparently  so  trifling  in 
themselves  as  to  hardly  merit  recognition,  and  yet 
each  in  its  way  is  of  great  importance  toward  training 
the  Junior.  In  connection  with  these  week-day  activi- 
ties, we  have  opportunity  to  care  for  many  secondary 
phases  of  religious  training  which  become  primary  in 
their  effect  upon  life  and  conduct." 

Miss  Harper  took  charge  of  the  conference,  and  Mrs. 
Richards  answered  many  questions. 

JUNIOR  SERVICE-ACTIVITIES 

**  Can  you  tell  us,"  said  one  of  those  present,  "  of 
some  service-activities  for  Juniors  as  well  as  play- 
activities  "  ? 

"  Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Richards,  "  there  are  various  types 
of  service-activities  that  are  possible  for  Juniors.  The 
Junior  Department  may  be  a  part  of  a  chorus  that 
participates  in  a  patriotic  celebration  on  the  anniver- 
sary of  Washington  or  Lincoln,  or  may  assist  in  some 
other  community  demonstration  of  a  civic  or  temper- 
ance character. 

"  A  Junior  class  may  carry  food  or  clothing  to  a 
poor  family,  or  may  sing  for  shut-ins,  or  may  drama- 
tize a  story  in  a  hospital,  a  *  home,*  or  some  other 
institution.  Juniors  may  deliver  messages  or  an- 
nouncements for  the  Junior  superintendent,  the  gen- 
eral superintendent,  or  the  pastor.  Juniors  may  assist 
in  decorating  the  Junior  assembly-room  for  rally  day, 
Lincoln's  birthday,  or  some  other  special  day. 

"  Our  Juniors  have  done  all  these  things,  and  I  have 
heard  of  other  suitable  Aveek-day  activities  for  Juniors. 


Week-Day  Activities  67 

Once  we  had  our  Juniors  busy  for  two  hours  one  after- 
noon putting  into  the  hands  of  someone  in  each  of  the 
homes  connected  with  our  church  a  printed  statement 
of  the  assets  and  the  needs  of  our  department,  and  the 
results  were  most  gratifying." 

At  the  close  of  the  conference  many  favorable  com- 
ments were  heard — how  very  **  interesting  "  and  how 
"  delightful  "  it  was  to  have  a  visiting  leader  some- 
times. 

Criticism  and  Discussion 

1.  What  do  you  think  of  the  suggestion  that  the 
week-day  activities  be  considered  in  the  nature  of  a 
reward  by  the  Juniors  ?  If  the  assembly-room  is  to  be 
decorated  for  some  special  day  or  occasion,  would  it 
be  advisable  to  allow  it  to  be  done  by  that  class  that 
has  made  the  best  average  grade  during  the  preceding 
month  or  quarter? 

2.  Can  you  suggest  any  other  types  of  week-day 
activities  for  Juniors?  If  possible,  tell  of  something 
your  Juniors  have  done.  Tell  how  you  got  them  to 
do  it,  and  give  your  judgment  regarding  the  value  of 
the  results.     Give  your  reasons. 

3.  What  is  the  greatest  difficulty  to  overcome  in 
connection  with  week-day  Junior  activities  correlated 
with  the  Sunday  school?  Why?  Is  the  difficulty 
with  the  Juniors  themselves,  with  their  parents,  with 
their  teacher,  with  the  leaders  in  the  church,  or  with 
yourself?     Be  frank. 

4.  When  there  is  a  money-cost  in  connection  with 
the  Junior  activities,  how  shall  it  be  taken  care  of? 
Why?     Give  an  example. 


68  Our  Junior  Department 

5.  Is  there  any  way  in  which  the  week-day  activities 
of  the  Junior  Department  can  be  correlated  with  the 
Junior's  activities  in  the  home  and  the  public  school? 
How?  Relate  some  experiences  in  this  connection,  if 
possible. 

6.  How  may  the  week-day  activities  of  the  Sunday 
school  be  most  successfully  correlated  with  those 
which  are  under  the  supervision  of  the  missionary  and 
other  Junior  organizations  in  the  church  ?  Give  some 
examples  of  how  it  has  been  done,  if  possible. 

7.  Some  important  beginnings  have  been  made  in 
week-day  religious  education,  where  effort  is  made  to 
so  organize  the  school  of  the  church  as  to  include  sys- 
tematic instruction  and  training  between  Sundays,  in 
addition  to  the  Sunday  sessions,  with  a  correlation  and 
utilization  of  all  the  educational  agencies  of  the 
church.  In  the  early  stages  of  this  new  development, 
at  least,  the  Juniors  seem  to  be  the  largest  benefici- 
aries, probably  for  the  reason  that  they  possess  a 
larger  store  of  energy  and  time  on  which  to  draw  than 
do  the  older  pupils,  and  that  they  are  more  easily 
enlisted  and  directed.  It  has  not  been  difficult  to 
secure  the  release  of  the  pupils  from  the  public  schools 
for  an  hour  or  two  each  week  for  this  week-day  re- 
ligious education,  and  in  some  cases  the  public-school 
building  has  been  used  for  the  purpose,  though  the  use 
of  a  church-building  probably  is  preferable.  One  of 
the  problems  in  connection  with  the  week-day  sessions 
of  the  school  of  the  church  is  the  securing  of  suitable 
materials — the  lessons.  In  some  cases  the  attempt  has 
been  made  to  adapt  the  graded  Sunday  school  lessons 
to  this  extra  use.    Some  denominations  are  making  pro.- 


Week-Day  Activities  69 

vision  for  the  creation  of  wholly  new  graded  lessons  for 
use  in  the  week-day  schools  of  religious  education.  It 
is  customary  for  several  churches  in  a  community  to 
cooperate  in  the  week-day  school  of  religion.  In  some 
communities  the  work  is  denominational,  and  in  others 
it  is  interdenominational.  This  comparatively  new 
phase  of  religious  education  by  the  school  of  the 
church  has  in  it  tremendous  possibilities  for  good,  and 
doubtless,  out  of  experimentation  and  through  large- 
minded  cooperation,  there  will  be  evolved  a  compre- 
hensive system  of  graded  materials  and  coordinated 
activities,  with  a  desirable  degree  of  standardization. 
8.  Read  "The  Sunday  School  Between  Sundays," 
Knapp ;  "  How  to  Conduct  a  Church  Vacation  School," 
Gage ;  "  The  Week-day  Church  School,"  Squires. 


CHAPTER  VII 
MAKING  THE  MOST  OF  RECORDS 

Mr.  Perry,  the  general  superintendent,  entered  the 
Junior  Department  of  the  Sunday  school  and  said  in 
his  cheery  way,  "  Good  morning,  Mrs.  Richards.  How- 
is  the  work  progressing  in  this  department?" 

"  Very  nicely,  Mr.  Perry,  in  most  respects,  but  I 
wish  we  had  some  way  systematically  to  follow  up 
the  absentees.  We  have  a  good  attendance,  and  the 
department  is  growing  in  numbers,  but  some  pupils 
are  missing. 

A  GOOD  SYSTEM  OF  RECORDS 

"  Some  of  our  teachers  have  been  very  faithful  in 
caring  for  the  members  of  their  classes,  but  others  do 
not  have  the  time  to  call  on  the  absent  ones  each  week. 
I  try  to  call  on  those  who  are  reported  ill,  but,  as  our 
department  grows,  I  shall  be  unable  to  do  all  of  this 
myself. 

"  Furthermore,  I  am  not  satisfied  with  our  system 
of  records.  Our  records  are  incomplete.  Our  report 
only  gives  the  number  present,  the  amount  of  the  col- 
lection from  each  class,  and  the  total  as  a  department. 
I  think  we  should  have  an  individual  report  of  each 
child  enrolled." 

"  I  think  so  too.  Suppose  you  look  into  this  matter, 
and  come  prepared  to  report  on  the  subject  at  the  next 
70 


Making  the  Most  of  Records  71 

officers'  conference.  If  we  can  find  a  system  that  will 
meet  the  needs  of  our  school,  we  can  adopt  it  at  once." 

Mrs.  Richards  spent  some  time  hunting  for  such  a 
system  of  records  as  would  provide  for  records  for 
each  child,  showing  his  standing  for  the  quarter.  She 
also  wanted  something  in  which  the  pupil  would  be 
interested,  and  in  which  he  would  have  a  pride,  some- 
thing he  could  take  home  and  show  to  his  parents. 

She  felt  that  such  a  system  of  records  would  make 
the  work  of  the  Sunday  school  seem  much  more  worth 
while.  She  wanted  the  children  to  regard  the  work 
in  the  Sunday  school  as  being  of  as  much  importance 
as  the  work  in  the  public  school,  instead  of  holding  the 
attitude  they  now  had,  that  anything  would  do  for  the 
Sunday  school. 

Mrs.  Richards  was  delighted  with  the  results  of  the 
conference.  A  system  of  records  was  adopted  that 
seemed  to  fully  meet  the  needs  of  the  school.  It  was 
a  card  system.  On  one  side  of  the  card  was  a  histori- 
cal record  of  the  child,  giving  the  name,  address,  tele- 
phone number,  date  of  birth,  age,  old  or  new  pupil, 
guardian  or  parent,  public  school  grade,  date  enrolled, 
department,  class,  date  of  promotion,  church  connec- 
tion, date  joined  our  church,  parents'  church,  date  of 
withdrawal  and  reasons  for,  remarks. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  card  was  name  of  pupil, 
name  of  teacher,  and  spaces  for  recording  each  Sunday 
the  attendance  (forty  per  cent),  punctuality  (twenty 
per  cent),  preparation  (thirty  per  cent),  offering  (ten 
per  cent),  total  (one  hundred  per  cent). 

The  percentages  were  printed  on  the  card,  and  any 
markings  would  mean  imperfections. 


72  Our  Junior  Department 


FINDING  THE  RIGHT  SECRETARY 

On  the  following  Sunday  morning  Mrs.  Richards 
explained  to  the  boys  and  girls  that  each  individual 
would  have  a  grade  card  and  that  a  careful  record 
would  be  kept ;  and  at  the  end  of  the  quarter  she  would 
place  upon  the  bulletin  board  a  list  of  the  names  of 
those  having  one  hundred  per  cent.  Only  marks 
against  the  pupil  were  made,  and  therefore  a  clean 
card  meant  one  hundred  per  cent. 

The  cards  worked  like  a  charm.  On  the  very  next 
Sunday  morning  one  little  girl  came  to  Sunday  school 
without  her  breakfast  because  she  didn't  want  to  be 
late  and  get  a  black  mark  on  her  card. 

**  Surely,  Mr.  Perry,  this  is  a  big  step  toward  the 
coveted  ideal,"  said  Mrs.  Richards,  when  she  and  the 
general  superintendent  were  talking  over  the  matter. 
**  This  system  of  records,  if  properly  kept,  will  im- 
prove all  lines  of  the  work.  Now  we  shall  have  to 
search  for  a  capable  secretary." 

"  That  is  right,  Mrs.  Richards,  there  is  a  great  work 
for  the  secretary.  This  is  one  of  the  most  neglected 
lines  of  work  of  the  Sunday  school.  Have  you  any 
idea  where  you  can  find  the  kind  of  a  Junior  secretary 
you  want?  " 

*'  No,  unless  I  can  persuade  a  little  mother  I  know 
to  do  the  work."  "  Does  she  attend  Sunday  school?  " 
"  No,  she  does  not;  but,  if  I  could  get  her  interested, 
she  would  make  a  good  one,  I  am  sure."  "  Let  me 
know  if  you  succeed  in  securing  her  services."  "  I 
shall,  Mr.  Perry." 

A   few   days  later,   Mrs.   Richards   called  on   Mrs. 


Making  the  Most  of  Records  73 

Harris,  the  mother  of  one  of  her  Junior  boys.  "  Mrs. 
Harris,  I  have  called  to  ask  you  to  accept  the  office 
of  secretary  in  the  Junior  Department  of  our  Sunday 
school." 

"  Oh,  Mrs.  Richards,  I  do  not  know  anything  about 
Sunday  school.  I  had  better  go  as  a  pupil.  No,  I 
never  could  accept  an  office.  Get  some  of  the  high- 
school  students,  who  are  quick  with  figures  and  have 
not  the  care  of  a  home  on  their  minds,  to  do  that  kind 
of  work." 

"  No,  Mrs.  Harris,  I  do  not  want  a  young  student 
for  this  place.  It  is  true  that  we  want  someone  quick 
at  figures,  but  that  is  the  least  of  my  concern.  I  want 
a  secretary  who  will  be  faithful,  who  will  have  a  sym- 
pathetic interest  in  the  boys  and  girls,  who  will  see 
the  vision  of  this  work,  who  will  be  willing  to  attend 
the  community  training-school,  who  will  take  up  the 
task  and  uncomplainingly  surmount  all  obstacles  and 
help  in  every  way  to  make  our  department  an  ideal 
one.  I  know  if  I  have  your  promise  to  do  this  I  can 
depend  on  you." 

LEARNING  HOW  TO  BE  A  SECRETARY 

"  Well,  I  can  try  if  you  really  want  me,  but  I  know 
nothing  about  Sunday  school  work." 

"  Then  you  will  have  no  bad  habits  to  break.  Can 
you  go  to  the  training-school  with  me  next  Monday 
evening?"  "Yes,  I  can  arrange  to  go."  "Thank 
you,  Mrs.  Harris.  I  shall  report  to  Mr.  Perry  at  once 
that  I  have  found  my  secretary." 

Mrs.    Harris    attended    the    community    training- 


74  Our  Junior  Department 

school.  She  studied  child  psychology,  Junior  methods, 
and  a  special  course  for  the  Sunday  school  secretary. 
She  read  all  the  best  books  on  the  subject,  and  Mrs. 
Richards  had  no  cause  for  disappointment  in  the 
results. 

The  new  record  system  was  a  success  under  the 
direction  of  Mrs.  Harris.  After  a  time,  however,  it 
became  evident  that  there  was  need  to  adopt  some 
means  for  increasing  interest  in  the  records.  So,  at 
a  meeting  of  the  Junior  conference,  it  was  decided  to 
try  to  work  by  classes,  and  it  was  planned  to  award  a 
banner  or  pennant  to  the  class  in  which  each  member 
had  received  one  hundred  per  cent,  calling  this  a  per- 
fect or  a  one-hundred-per-cent  class  for  that  day. 

Mrs.  Harris  and  the  teachers  made  the  pennants 
from  green  blotting  paper.  The  "  100%  "  cut  from 
white  paper  was  pasted  on.  These  pennants  were 
very  atttractive-looking  and  very  inexpensive. 

GETTING  THE  PUPILS  INTERESTED 

At  the  close  of  the  class  period  each  Sunday  Mrs. 
Harris  would  present  a  pennant  to  each  class  that  was 
entitled  to  one,  and  they  would  hang  it  in  their  class- 
room. In  order  that  the  children  would  not  lose  in- 
terest and  become  discouraged,  should  there  happen  to 
be  a  chronic  absentee  in  the  class  and  the  class  thus 
be  kept  from  getting  one  hundred  per  cent,  the  chronic 
absentees  were  called  "  associate  members,"  and  the 
rest  "  active  members."  The  associate  members  did 
not  count  against  the  one-hundred-per-cent  class.  If 
the  associate  members  wanted  to  become  active  mem- 


Making  the  Most  of  Records  75 

bers,  they  had  to  have  a  one-hundred-per-cent  record 
for  three  consecutive  Sundays. 

"  Well,  Mrs.  Harris,  now  that  the  one-hundred-per- 
cent classes  are  nicely  started,  I  have  an  idea  about 
looking  after  your  absent  boys  and  girls,"  said  the 
general  superintendent  at  one  of  the  officers'  confer- 
ences. "  If  you  had  an  assistant,  you  could  compile  a 
list  of  the  names  and  addresses  and  phone  numbers  of 
every  absent  pupil  each  Sunday  and  then  call,  tele- 
phone, or  send  a  note,  or  in  some  other  way  reach 
them,  and  learn  the  cause  of  their  absence  and  let 
them  know  you  missed  them  and  are  looking  for  them 
to  come  back  soon." 

"  That  is  a  fine  suggestion,  Mr.  Perry,  and  you  can 
help  me  to  find  that  assistant." 

One  year  later  Mrs.  Richards  was  visiting  a  friend, 
who  also  was  a  Junior  superintendent.  "  And  you  say 
you  look  after  the  absentees  every  week?  How  do 
you  manage  it  ?  " 

"  We  try  different  plans,  Mrs.  Clark.  We  find  we 
must  change  frequently,  for  no  device,  however  good, 
will  long  satisfy  the  Junior.  For  a  while  we  tried 
sending  telegrams,  written  in  class  by  the  teacher,  and 
by  the  close  of  the  Sunday  school  session  the  assistant 
secretary  had  the  address  on  each  one ;  and  several 
boys  with  bicycles  delivered  them,  and  were  back  in 
time  for  church. 

OTHER  GOOD  METHODS 

"  Then  sometimes  the  secretary  calls  up  by  phone 
and  inquires  about  the  absent  one,  and  tries  to  impress 
the  parents  with  the  fact  that  the  class  record  depends 


76  Our  Junior  Department 

on  Johnnie,  and  that,  not  only  his  own  record  is 
spoiled  by  his  absence,  but  that  of  his  class  also.  If 
Johnnie  is  ill,  words  of  sympathy  are  given,  and  these 
are  appreciated* 

"  Sometimes  the  secretary  writes  little  notes  and 
sends  them  through  the  mail.  If  any  are  ill,  a  picture 
of  a  flower  is  cut  from  a  magazine  and  pasted  on  the 
letter,  and  the  note  will  read,  '  The  Junior  Department 
sends  you  this  rose,  and  all  are  anxious  to  have  you 
well  again  and  in  your  place  in  Sunday  school,'  etc. 

"  For  the  convalescent,  pictures  of  fruit  are  sent,  the 
note  reading :  *  Dear  Mary — Here  is  a  basket  of  fruit 
from  the  Juniors.  We  hope  you  will  be  able  to  be  in 
your  place  next  Sunday.' 

"  One  rainy  Sunday  a  number  were  absent,  and  to 
all  of  these  were  sent  a  note  with  an  umbrella  cut  from 
black  paper,  pasted  at  the  top  of  the  note-paper,  say- 
ing: *  Did  the  rain  keep  you  home  last  Sunday?  Well, 
here's  a  big  umbrella.  'Twill  help  to  keep  you  dry. 
We'll  look  for  you  next  Sunday  surely.' " 

"  Do  you  like  the  idea  of  a  visiting  secretary,  Mrs. 
Richards?  "  "  Yes,  that  is  good,  but  I  like  better  the 
plans  I  have  described.  Our  teachers  call  when  they 
can.  I  call  if  any  are  ill.  But  it  takes  variety  to  bring 
results." 

"  Have  you  used  the  postal  cards  already  printed  for 
this  purpose?"  "Oh,  yes,  and  they  are  good,  but 
somehow  the  boys  and  girls  like  the  home-made  ones, 
and  they  bring  the  desired  results  better  than  any- 
thing else  we  have  ever  tried." 

"  I  am  convinced  it  pays  to  have  a  trained  secretary, 
Mrs.  Richards." 


Making  the  Most  of  Records  77 


Criticism  and  Discussion 

1.  Do  you  know  just  how  many  Juniors  you  have 
lost  out  of  your  department  during  the  last  year?  It 
would  surprise  the  workers  in  many  a  Junior  Depart- 
ment to  be  brought  face  to  face  with  their  "  leakage 
facts."  It  is  not  so  difficult  to  get  the  Juniors,  and  it 
is  not  easy  to  hold  them.  Are  you  holding  your 
Juniors?     Why? 

2.  Of  course  no  system  of  records,  however  good 
and  well-managed,  will  in  itself  hold  the  Juniors,  but 
the  right  system,  rightly  managed,  by  the  right  secre- 
tary, will  be  a  very  effective  aid.  Then  back  of  the 
system  there  must  be  soul,  back  of  the  records  there 
must  be  religion,  back  of  the  grades  there  must  be 
grace,  back  of  the  reports  there  must  be  repentance, 
back  of  the  course  there  must  be  a  caring,  and  back  of 
the  percentages  there  must  be  practice. 

3.  But  there  is  a  place  for  the  mechanics  as  well  as 
the  dynamics.  Why?  Because  the  mechanics  make 
for  dynamics.  Because  good  records  constitute  one 
method  of  teaching.  Records  in  the  Junior  Depart- 
ment may  be  made  to  teach  order,  system,  coopera- 
tion, punctuality,  accuracy,  attention  to  details,  and 
that  the  school  of  the  church  is  at  least  as  important 
as  the  public  school.  They  also  teach  appreciation  of 
good  work  as  opposed  to  poor  work — that  he  who 
makes  good  will  receive  more  appreciation  from  his 
associates  than  he  who  does  not  make  good.  The 
Junior  will  find  it  to  be  so  in  life. 

4.  Did  you  observe  that  Mrs.  Harris,  the  new  secre- 
tary, was  a  mature  woman?     It  is  fatal  to  the  success 


78  Our  Junior  Department 

of  any  system  of  records  to  place  a  young,  inexperi- 
enced individual  in  charge.  The  most  important 
teaching-position  in  the  Junior  Department,  next  to 
that  of  the  superintendent,  is  that  of  the  secretary. 
The  secretary,  in  reality,  is  a  teacher,  and  the  teacher 
of  the  whole  department. 

5.  Some  may  object  to  the  system  of  records  adopted 
in  Mrs.  Richards'  department  on  the  ground  that  it 
does  not  take  account  of  a  sufficient  number  of  items 
in  the  marking.  There  are  two  things  to  be  said  in 
this  connection.  First,  to  increase  the  number  of 
items  contained  is  to  complicate  the  system  and  to 
multiply  the  chances  against  its  success.  Second, 
other  items  may  be  considered  in  connection  with  the 
four  essentials  named.  For  instance,  deportment,  the 
bringing  of  Bibles,  church  attendance,  etc.,  may  be 
taken  account  of  under  the  item  "  Preparation." 

6.  Note  the  emphasis  placed  upon  enlisting  the  in- 
terest of  the  pupils  in  the  records  of  the  department, 
and  the  suggestions  regarding  variety  in  the  use  of 
devices  and  methods.  If  the  records  are  to  do  their 
best  teaching,  it  is  essential  that  the  pupil  shall  regard 
them  as  important,  and  it  is  of  the  highest  importance 
to  develop  a  departmental  appreciation  of  "  good 
records,"  so  that  they  will  enter  into  the  motivation  of 
lesson-preparation  and  of  assembly  and  class  behavior. 

7.  The  effectiveness  of  any  system  of  records  is  de- 
pendent, in  large  measure,  on  their  use  in  connection 
with  promotions.  If  promotion  honors  are  based  on 
the  pupils'  class  averages,  then  the  grades  will  loom 
large  in  the  thinking  of  the  pupils,  and  will  assist 
materially  in  "  toning  up  "  the  whole  department. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

PROMOTIONS  IN  THE  JUNIOR 
DEPARTMENT 

It  was  a  busy  time  for  the  Junior  Department, 
though  it  was  vacation  season,  for  extensive  plans 
were  being  made  for  Promotion  Day. 

The  members  of  the  graduating  classes  were  con- 
siderably excited  because  Mrs.  Richards,  the  superin- 
tendent, had  announced  at  the  beginning  of  the  year 
that  only  those  completing  satisfactorily  the  year's 
work  would  receive  diplomas,  and  so,  as  the  day  drew 
near,  some  were  trying  to  complete  neglected  work- 
books, and  others  were  studying  to  make  up  the  re- 
quired memory  work,  for  no  one  wanted  to  fail  and 
lose  his  diploma. 

Mrs.  Richards  tried  in  every  way  possible  to  make 
a  great  event  of  Promotion  Day,  one  to  which  the 
other  Juniors  would  look  forward  with  much  interest. 

GETTING  READY  FOR  PROMOTION 

On  September  the  first  the  pupils  in  the  graduating 
classes  were  given  their  colors  to  wear.  And  how 
proud  they  were  of  those  green  and  white  ribbons ! 
During  this  month  the  four  graduating  classes  con- 
ducted the  opening  services,  and  they  gave  some  splen- 
did programs.    Mr.  Wright's  class  gave  the  first. 

79 


80  Our  Junior  Department 

Mr.  Wright  offered  the  opening  prayer  and  led  the 
department  in  singing,  and  then  each  boy  in  the  class 
gave  a  short  character  sketch  of  a  Bible  boy,  after 
which  Mr.  Wright  gave  a  short  talk  about  the  boy 
Jesus,  telling  about  the  country  in  which  he  lived  and 
some  of  his  habits,  etc.  In  closing,  a  song  by  the 
department  was  used. 

Mrs.  Martin  and  her  class  of  girls  conducted  the  ser- 
vices the  following  Sunday  morning.  The  first  thing  on 
the  program  was  a  short  story  about  one  of  our  mis- 
sionaries, told  by  one  of  the  girls  in  the  class.  The 
department  then  sang  a  missionary  hymn.  The  Scrip- 
ture used  was  Mark  16  :  15,  one  of  our  missionary 
memory  verses.  Mrs.  Martin  closed  the  service  with 
prayer. 

Mr.  Benson's  boys  gave  us  a  patriotic  program. 
"  The  Star  Spangled  Banner  "  was  sung,  while  two  of 
the  boys  held  the  flag,  and,  at  the  close  of  the  song, 
another  boy  stepped  upon  the  platform  and  led  the 
department  in  the  flag  salute. 

Mr.  Benson  then  told  a  patriotic  story,  and  the 
department  sang  "  Onward,  Christian  Soldiers,"  with 
two  of  the  boys  holding  the  Christian  flag  and  another 
leading  the  Juniors  in  the  Christian  flag-salute.  Fol- 
lowing this  was  a  moment  of  silent  prayer,  and  then 
Mr.  Benson's  class  responded  with  a  prayer-verse. 
(Ps.  119  :  18.) 

The  last  of  these  programs  was  given  by  Miss 
Moody's  class,  beginning  with  a  piano  solo  by  one  of 
the  girls.  Following  this  was  the  Scripture  lesson, 
read  by  another  girl.  A  special  number  came  next, 
a  song  by  the  class.     Prayer  was  then  offered  by  one 


Promotions  in  the  Junior  Department        81 

of  the  girls.     The  department  sang  a  hymn,  and  Miss 
Moody  closed  the  service  with  a  prayer. 

PROMOTION  DAY  BANQUET 

During  the  week  preceding  Promotion  Day,  the 
teachers  of  the  graduating  classes  and  Mrs.  Richards 
gave  a  banquet  for  the  graduates.  The  hour  chosen 
for  the  banquet  was  five  o'clock  on  Friday  afternoon, 
giving  the  boys  and  girls  plenty  of  time  to  go  home 
with  their  school-books,  dress  for  the  occasion,  and 
return  to  the  church. 

The  table  was  beautifully  decorated,  the  green-and- 
white  color-scheme  being  carried  out.  Mrs.  Richards 
and  the  teachers  conducted  it  all  in  as  dignified  a 
manner  as  if  they  had  been  entertaining  the  church 
officials. 

After  singing  "  Praise  God  From  Whom  All  Bless- 
ings Flow,"  they  were  seated  at  the  tables.  Only 
those  who  associate  with  Juniors  know  how  they  enjoy 
good  things  to  eat.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  watch  them. 
The  banquet  was  over  in  time  for  all  to  reach  home 
before  dark. 

THE  DAY  ITSELF 

For  the  Promotion  Program  on  Sunday,  the  classes 
gave  a  dramatization  of  "  Naaman  the  Leper."  The 
boys  enjoyed  making  the  swords  and  spears,  and  they 
were  splendid-looking  soldiers.  They  all  acted  their 
parts  well,  and  it  was  pronounced  by  all  a  splendid 
success.  And  thirty-five  very  happy  children  carried 
home  the  diplomas  they  had  really  earned. 


82  Our  Junior  Department 

The  dramatization  of  "  Naaman  the  Leper "  was 
presented  in  four  scenes.  The  first  is  a  scene  in  a 
Jewish  home. 

The  mother  says :  "  Come,  children,  are  you  ready 
for  our  evening  story?"  The  children  gather  around 
the  mother's  chair,  saying:  "  Oh,  mother,  tell  us  more 
about  the  great  prophet  Elisha." 

Soldiers  outside  are  heard,  the  captain  says :  "  Halt ! 
Enter  this  house,  and  take  everything  of  value."  The 
soldiers  enter  the  house,  and  the  captain  says:  "  Halt! 
Here  are  some  fine-looking  maidens.  Capture  them. 
They  will  make  good  servants  in  our  homes."  The 
soldiers  take  the  girls  by  force  and  march  away. 

The  mother,  in  great  distress,  exclaims :  "  My  chil- 
dren !  Oh,  my  children !  Gone  to  be  slaves  in  Syria. 
How  can  I  bear  it?  " 

The  second  scene  is  in  a  Syrian  home.  It  is  the 
home  of  Captain  Naaman,  in  which  appears  one  of  the 
little  Jewish  captives. 

The  mother  sits  weeping,  when  two  children  enter. 
The  first  child  says :  "  Oh,  mother,  what  is  the 
trouble?  "  The  mother  says :  "  I  am  sad  because  your 
father  has  the  leprosy.  Oh,  what  shall  we  do?  What 
shall  we  do?" 

The  Jewish  maid  enters  while  the  mother  is  speak- 
ing. The  first  child  says :  "  Will  they  send  father 
away  now?"  The  second  child  says:  "How  can  the 
king  spare  father  when  he  is  captain  of  the  whole 
army  ?  "  The  Jewish  maid  says :  "  Oh,  I  wish  my 
master,  Naaman,  were  with  the  great  prophet  that  is 
in  Samaria.  I  know  he  could  cure  that  leprosy." 
Naaman's  wife  says:  "Who  did  you  say?    Are  you 


Promotions  in  the  Junior  Department        83 

sure?"  The  Jewish  maid  says:  "I  know  he  could. 
He  does  wonderful  things."  Naaman's  wife  says: 
"  We  shall  see  about  this  at  once."     Exit  all. 

The  third  scene  shows  the  King  of  Israel  in  the 
foreground,  and,  near  the  back  of  platform,  Elisha  the 
prophet.  Enter  a  servant  with  a  letter  from  the  King 
of  Syria.  The  king  receives  the  letter,  and  reads 
aloud :  "  Now,  when  this  letter  is  come  unto  thee,  be- 
hold I  have  therewith  sent  Naaman,  my  servant,  to 
thee  that  thou  mayest  recover  him  of  his  leprosy." 
Then,  in  anger,  the  King  of  Israel :  "  What  does  this 
King  of  Syria  think?  Am  I  a  god  that  I  can  cure  the 
leprosy?  He  is  only  trying  to  seek  a  quarrel  with 
me." 

Elisha  steps  forward  and  says :  "  Why  are  you  so 
angry?  Send  this  man  to  me,  and  he  shall  know  that 
there  is  a  prophet  in  Israel."  The  king  leaves  the 
room,  and  Elisha  stands  with  head  bowed.  Enter  a 
band  of  soldiers  with  Captain  Namaan,  who  has  head 
bandaged  and  also  both  hands  and  arms  to  elbows. 
A  soldier  says  to  Elisha :  "  The  King  of  Israel  has  sent 
Naaman  to  you."  Elisha  says :  "  Tell  him  to  go  and 
wash  in  the  river  Jordan  seven  times,  and  his  flesh 
will  be  restored,  and  he  will  be  clean."  A  servant  to 
Naaman :  "  The  prophet  says  to  go  bathe  in  the  Jordan 
seven  times,  and  that  your  flesh  will  be  restored  and 
you  will  be  clean."  Naaman  says :  "  Is  that  all  he  can 
do?  I  thought  he  would  come  to  me,  and  call  on  the 
name  of  the  Lord  and  touch  my  flesh,  and  that  the 
leprosy  would  disappear.  Well,  I  shall  go  home. 
Haven't  we  rivers  in  our  own  country  greater  than  the 
Jordan  in  which  I  can  bathe  and  be  clean?" 


84  Our  Junior  Department 

A  servant  steps  in  front  of  Naaman  as  he  turns  to 
go,  and  says :  "  O,  master,  if  the  prophet  had  asked 
you  to  do  something  great,  you  would  have  done  it. 
Now  all  he  asks  is  that  you  wash,  and  be  clean.  Why 
don't  you  try  it?  "  Naaman  says :  "  Very  well,  I  shall 
try  it,"  and  leaves  the  platform. 

Elisha  sits  with  head  bowed  as  if  in  prayer.  Enter 
soldiers  with  Naaman,  whose  bandages  are  gone. 
Naaman  says  :  "  I  am  well !  My  flesh  has  come  back ! 
I  will  bless  thee  and  give  thee  silver  and  gold  that  I 
brought  with  me  to  pay  thee  with." 

Elisha  says :  "  No.  I  will  not  take  pay.  Go,  and 
return  thanks  to  God,  he  it  was  that  cured  you  of  your 
leprosy."  Naaman  says :  "  Now  I  know  there  is  but 
one  god,  the  God  of  Israel."  Elisha  says :  "  Go  in 
peace." 

In  talking  with  the  teachers  a  little  later  Mrs. 
Richards  discovered  that  the  promotion  services  had 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  younger  Juniors. 
"  My  boys  want  to  know  how  long  it  will  be  before 
they  will  graduate,  and  if  there  is  much  danger  of 
their  failing,"  said  Miss  Moore. 

"  I  am  so  glad  the  Juniors  are  beginning  to  realize 
that  the  Sunday  school  work  really  is  important,"  said 
Mrs.  Richards,  "  and  are  willing  to  work  for  the  re- 
ward, a  diploma  and  the  honors  that  go  with  it.  I 
have  been  thinking,  too,  that  they  should  not  have  to 
wait  the  entire  Junior  period  for  the  reward,  and  that 
we  should  give  each  child  a  promotion-card  as  he  fin- 
ishes each  year's  work." 

"  The  very  thing,  Mrs.  Richards,"  said  Miss  Morris, 
"  and  I  want  to  suggest  that  you  grade  all  the  books 


Promotions  in  the  Junior  Department        85 

instead  of  the  teachers  grading  their  own  pupils' 
books."  "What  is  your  idea  in  changing?"  **  The 
grading  would  be  more  uniform,  and  I  believe  the  boys 
and  girls  would  try  harder  if  they  knew  the  superin- 
tendent would  grade  all  the  books." 

"  I  am  willing  to  try  if  you  all  think  it  will  improve 
conditions.  All  of  us  want  to  make  our  department 
the  very  best  possible.  We  have  had  a  very  success- 
ful year  in  many  ways.  Each  year  we  have  raised  the 
standard  of  our  department.  Each  year  we  have  a 
greater  number  of  boys  and  girls  who  have  publicly 
accepted  Christ.  During  the  coming  year  we  must 
redouble  our  efforts,  and  be  more  constant  in  our 
prayers  that  every  Junior  may  accept  Christ  before  he 
leaves  this  department." 

Criticism  and  Discussion 

1.  What  do  you  think  of  the  suggestions  given  rela- 
tive to  preparation  for  Promotion  Day?  Have  you 
tried  any  other  methods  of  arousing  interest  in  pro- 
motions? 

2.  It  is  possible,  of  course,  to  conduct  a  Promotion 
Day  service  with  very  little  profit  to  the  pupils,  and 
certainly  it  will  fall  very  short  of  its  purpose  unless 
the  work  of  the  whole  year  is  in  the  nature  of  a  prepa- 
ration, and  unless  some  suitable  plans  are  devised  for 
a  definite  leading  up  to  Promotion  Day.  Of  course 
the  expectation  of  being  honored  on  Promotion  Day 
should  not  be  the  chief  motive  with  the  Juniors,  but 
at  the  same  time  the  desire  to  stand  well  in  the  class 
and  in  the  department,  and  to  receive  school  honors,  is 
perfectly  legitimate.     The  asking  of  each  class  to  par- 


86  Our  Junior  Department 

ticipate  definitely  in  the  order  of  worship  constitutes 
a  good  suggestion  for  other  seasons  of  the  year.  Let 
us  keep  in  mind  that  Juniors  '*  learn  by  doing,"  and 
only  incidentally  by  hearing  the  superintendent  and 
the  teachers  talk  and  by  having  things  done  for  them. 

3.  Junior  workers  sometimes  raise  the  question  as 
to  whether  or  not  the  conferring  of  honors  upon  those 
who  do  good  work  and  who  attain  good  grades  tends 
to  discourage  the  poorer  students.  The  answer  is 
*'  No."  It  will  prove  rather  to  be  an  incentive  to  do 
better  work.  I  was  present  one  Sunday  in  a  certain 
Sunday  school  when  the  Juniors  were  being  promoted. 
Each  class  in  turn  stood  at  a  given  signal,  and  those 
in  the  class  who  had  made  the  necessary  grades  were 
handed  certificates  of  promotion,  and,  in  the  case  of  the 
most  advanced  classes,  diplomas  of  graduation  into 
the  Intermediate  Department.  Only  a  few  of  the 
pupils  received  these  honors,  while  the  others  simply 
did  not  receive  them,  and  were  passed  on  to  the  next 
grade  or  the  next  department  without  honors.  One 
of  the  boys  who  had  failed  to  receive  honors  was  over- 
heard to  say,  "  I'll  bet  I  get  a  certificate  next  year." 
Another  said,  "  Gee,  I  could  have  done  that  as  well  as 
the  other  boys,  but  I  didn't  know  I  would  feel  this 
way  about  it."  This  impressive  promotion  service 
toned  up  the  whole  department  educationally,  and  the 
work  in  the  department  during  the  following  year 
averaged  at  least  one  hundred  per  cent  better. 

4.  Of  course  care  should  be  exercised  to  develop  in 
the  Junior  an  appreciation  of  the  value  of  a  "  good 
grade  "  and  of  attaining  the  departmental  honors  from 
the  very  day  of  his  entrance  into  the  department,  so 


Promotions  in  the  Junior  Department        87 

that  there  will  not  need  to  be  the  disappointment  of 
failure  on  Promotion  Day.  Something  should  be  said 
about  the  grades  of  pupils  in  various  classes  from 
time  to  time,  special  praise  being  accorded  to  those 
who  have  made  particularly  good  grades  for  the  quar- 
ter, say.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  important  to  guard 
against  overemphasizing  good  grades  and  Promotion 
Day  honors.  Always  there  will  be  some  in  the  de- 
partment who,  for  various  reasons,  cannot  and  will  not 
make  good  grades,  and  it  is  advisable  to  hold  them  in 
the  department  and  to  do  as  good  work  with  them  as 
is  possible.  Moreover,  the  main  thing  is  not  a  grade 
or  an  honor.  The  chief  consideration  is  interest  and 
improvement  and  life. 

5.  The  superintendent  and  the  teachers  should 
guard  against  the  attitude  of  the  "  mere  pedagogue." 
They  are  not  bosses,  but  sympathetic  leaders.  They 
are  not  know-it-alls,  looking  down  with  pity  or  patron- 
izing cant  upon  the  Juniors,  but  rather  companions 
and  sympathetic  friends.  Such  attitudes  on  the  part 
of  the  workers  are  certain  to  bring  a  hearty  response 
on  the  part  of  the  pupils  in  any  Junior  Department. 
In  such  a  department,  grades  and  promotions  will 
serve  only  as  an  earnest,  cooperative  effort  to  properly 
appreciate  and  recognize  excellencies  on  the  part  of 
the  pupils, 

6.  Read  Chapter  XIV,  Incentives  and  Rewards,  and 
Chapter  XX,  The  Celebration  of  Special  Days,  in 
"  The  Junior  Worker  and  Work."" 

7.  One  Junior  superintendent,  living  in  a  com- 
munity where  the  regular  Sunday  school  lessons  were 
dispensed  with  during  the  summer  vacation  months. 


88  Our  Junior  Department 

carried  a  class  of  boys  through  a  special  course  in 
"  The  Lord's  Prayer."  She  used  a  class  scroll,  illus- 
trative incidentally  of  an  Oriental  book.  The  scroll 
consisted  of  a  sheet  of  heavy  paper  about  two  feet 
wide  and  six  feet  long,  with  a  pole  or  stick  at  each  end, 
with  sealing-wax  knobs,  for  rolling  and  unrolling  the 
scroll.  On  the  first  Sunday  the  lesson  was  on  "  Our 
Father,  who  art  in  heaven,"  and  this  was  a  missionary 
lesson  with  the  telling  of  a  story  and  the  pasting  of 
Chinese  and  Japanese  and  other  pictures  in  a  circle,  in 
the  center  of  which  were  the  words  "  Our  Father." 
On  the  second  Sunday,  *'  Hallowed  be  thy  name  "  was 
similarly  handled,  with  pictures  of  angels,  a  list  of  the 
names  of  God,  with  a  lesson  on  reverence.  On  the 
third  Sunday,  "  Thy  kingdom  come,"  there  was  a  large 
crown  cut  from  gold  paper  and  a  picture  of  the  tri- 
umphant entry  of  Jesus,  with  suggestions  as  to  how 
the  Juniors  might  crown  Christ  as  king.  On  the 
fourth  Sunday,  '*  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth,"  with  a 
picture  of  the  earth,  and  a  missionary  story.  For  the 
fifth  Sunday,  "  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread  "  was 
made  an  Armenian  relief  lesson.  There  was  the  tell- 
ing of  the  story  of  the  boy  and  the  loaves  and  fishes, 
and  the  making  of  a  poster  on  the  space  of  the  scroll 
allotted  for  this  Sunday.  On  the  sixth  Sunday,  "  For- 
give us  our  debts,"  there  was  the  occasion  for  the  tell- 
ing of  the  story  of  Joseph  forgiving  his  brothers.  The 
pictures  were  those  of  boys  and  girls  quarreling  or 
forgiving.  On  the  seventh  Sunday,  "  Lead  us  not  into 
temptation,"  there  was  the  occasion  for  pictures  of  the 
various  kinds  of  Junior  temptations,  such  as  cigarette 
using,   etc.      On  the   eighth   Sunday,   "  Thine   is  the 


Promotions  in  the  Junior  Department        89 

kingdom,"  Hofmann's  "  Head  of  Christ "  was  one  of 
the  pictures,  and  there  was  a  United  States  flag  with 
the  saluting  of  the  flag.  On  Promotion  Day,  the  exer- 
cises for  the  Junior  Department  consisted  of  a  review 
of  these  special  lessons.  Two  boys  held  the  scroll 
with  its  pictures  and  lettering,  and  one  boy  explained 
each  of  the  lessons,  and  told  why  these  particular 
pictures  were  used,  and  what  they  taught. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  SMALL  DEPARTMENT 

The  pianist  of  the  Junior  Department  had  moved  to 
another  section  of  the  country,  and  after  some  weeks 
the  superintendent  received  the  following  letter  from 
her :  "  My  dear  Mrs.  Richards :  At  last  I  can  write  and 
tell  you  we  are  comfortably  settled  in  our  new  home, 
and  that  we  like  it  very  much  here. 

"And  what  do  you  suppose  I  am  doing?  You  can 
never,  never  guess,  I  am  sure,  so  I  shall  tell  you  at 
once.  I  am  Junior  superintendent.  Let  me  explain 
how  it  all  happened. 

"  Our  church  here  is  a  small  one,  with  only  one  room 
and  a  basement.  The  first  Sunday  I  went  to  Sunday 
school  I  noticed  about  a  dozen  Junior  boys  and  girls 
sitting  in  a  row,  and  they  seemed  so  uninterested  in 
all  that  was  going  on  that  I  felt  real  sorry  for  them. 

"  When  it  was  time  for  the  class  work,  the  superin- 
tendent came  to  me  with  the  statement  that  the 
Juniors'  teacher  was  absent,  and  asked  me  to  take  the 
class.  I  did.  The  lesson  was  '  The  Literature  of  the 
Hebrew  People,'  and  I  knew  I  could  never  get  them 
interested  in  that,  for  I  knew  that  they  could  not 
understand  it. 

"  At  first  I  didn't  know  just  what  to  do.  I  remem- 
bered that  you  said  a  Junior  lesson  must  be  full  of 
action,  and  I  thought  of  a  missionary  story  you  told 
90 


The  Small  Department  91 

the  last  Sunday  I  was  there,  so  I  put  aside  the  lesson- 
leaf  they  had  given  me,  and  asked  the  class  if  they 
would  like  to  have  me  tell  them  a  story.  They  were 
all  interested  at  once,  and  scarcely  moved  until  I  had 
finished. 

"  The  superintendent  passed  by  twice  to  see  what 
had  happened  to  *  the  worst  class  in  the  room,'  and 
when  Sunday  school  was  over,  he  came  to  me  and  said, 
*  Miss  Blackwell,  you  seem  to  be  very  successful  with 
children.  These  Juniors  have  just  run  off  their  other 
teacher.  How  would  you  like  to  take  them  perma- 
nently ? ' 

"  I  told  him  that  I  would  have  to  think  about  it.  I 
studied  the  matter  over  all  the  week.  I  didn't  feel 
equal  to  the  task  at  all,  for  I  had  always  been  the 
pianist  or  organist,  and  had  only  substituted  occa- 
sionally for  you.  Then  I  thought  of  all  we  did  there, 
and  what  it  meant  to  seventy-five  children,  and  I 
thought,  *  Is  it  right  to  neglect  these  Juniors  because 
there  are  only  a  dozen  of  them  ? ' 

GETTING  A  START 

"  Well,  to  make  a  long  story  short,  I  went  to  the 
superintendent  and  said,  *  Mr.  Bloom,  I  am  willing 
to  take  that  class  if  you  will  let  me  organize  a  Junior 
Department.'  He  laughed  loud  and  long.  *  Where 
would  we  put  them  ?  '  he  said.  '  The  Primary  Depart- 
ment is  in  the  basement,  and  there  is  no  room  for  a 
department  up  here.' 

"  I  said,  *  If  I  could  only  have  a  corner  in  the  back 
of  the  church,  by  the  window,  I  think  I  could  manage 


92  Our  Junior  Department 

nicely.'  *  Well/  he  said,  *  if  you  think  you  can,  all 
right,  go  ahead.     Anything  to  keep  them  still.* 

"  How  I  did  work  with  those  boys  and  girls !  I 
ordered  a  dozen  graded  work-books.  Then  I  found 
two  high-school  girls  to  serve  as  teachers,  and  I  helped 
them  to  plan  the  lessons.  I  separated  the  boys  and 
girls.  I  made  two  classes  of  the  girls,  which  the  high- 
school  girls  were  to  teach,  and  I  took  the  boys  myself. 

"  The  father  of  one  of  the  boys  was  a  carpenter, 
and  he  made  us  a  table.  One  of  the  girls'  classes 
managed  to  find  a  little  folding  sewing-table  for  their 
class,  and  I  am  sure  the  other  class  will  soon  be  pro- 
vided for.  We  have  a  screen  and  a  curtain,  and  so 
have  the  coziest  little  Junior  room,  with  three  classes 
in  it,  you  ever  saw.  As  soon  as  Sunday  school  is  over, 
we  fold  up  the  tables,  pull  the  curtain  back,  set  the 
screen  back,  and  all  is  ready  for  church. 

CULTIVATING  INITIATIVE 

"And  I  must  tell  you  about  our  blackboard.  You 
will  laugh,  I  know,  but  we  are  really  proud  of  it.  We 
have  a  dark-green  window-shade  mounted  on  a  board 
and  nailed  on  the  wall.  It  works  nicely,  and  I  like  it 
especially  because  I  can  prepare  the  blackboard  before 
Sunday  school,  and  when  I  am  ready  to  use  it  I  pull 
down  the  shade. 

"  I  drill  the  three  classes  in  memory  work  and 
various  Bible  drills  before  we  study  in  our  classes. 
Of  course  we  can't  have  our  own  opening  service,  but 
I  made  so  bold  as  to  ask  Mr.  Bloom  if  the  Juniors 
could  not  have  something  all  by  themselves  in  the 


The  Small  Department  93 

general  opening  service  some  time,  and  he  said,  *  Next 
Sunday  is  temperance  Sunday,  and  you  Juniors  can 
have  twenty  minutes  on  the  program  then,  if  you  v^^ant 
it.' 

"  Nov^  I  am  frightened,  for  what  can  we  do  about 
temperance?  Last  evening  I  thought  about  you,  and 
wondered  if  you  would  tell  me  what  to  do?  I  want 
to  know  also  what  methods  you  have  used  for  getting 
the  work-books  finished  promptly  each  quarter. 

"  There  is  no  community  training-school  near  here. 
How  I  wish  I  had  attended  regularly  when  I  had  the 
chance.  You  see,  now  I  have  to  train  my  own  teach- 
ers. Will  you  please  send  me  that  little  poem  you  read 
at  one  of  our  conference  meetings?  I  should  like  to 
give  each  of  my  teachers  a  copy  of  it.  I  should  appre- 
ciate anything  you  think  of  that  would  help  our 
Juniors  in  any  way.  Confidently  expecting  an  early 
reply,  I  am,  yours  sincerely,  Marie  Blackwell." 

Mrs.  Richards  promptly  answered  this  letter  as  fol- 
lows :  "  My  dear  Miss  Blackwell :  How  happy  I  was 
to  receive  your  good  letter.  I  am  glad  you  are  pleased 
with  your  new  home,  and  that  you  are  taking  up  the 
Junior  work.  And  under  such  difficulties  too!  How 
proud  I  am  of  your  success.  I  shall  tell  my  Juniors 
about  you  and  your  little  department.  They  will  be 
very  much  interested,  I  know. 

"  We  miss  you  and  your  good  music.  And  to  think 
we  had  to  lose  you  so  soon  after  we  had  purchased 
our  new  Junior  piano !  It  will  be  difficult  to  find  any- 
one to  take  your  place.  Much  depends  on  the  music 
and  on  having  a  pianist  who  is  always  prompt  and 
regular  in  attendance. 


94  Our  Junior  Department 

"  However,  our  loss  is  a  great  gain  for  the  little 
church  in  which  you  are  working,  so  we  shall  not 
mourn,  but  shall  rejoice  with  them,  and  let  me 
prophesy  that  in  the  near  future  you  and  your  Juniors 
will  build  an  addition  to  that  church  and  carry  on  the 
good  work  in  an  ideal  way. 

A  JUNIOR  JOLLIFICATION 

"  You  may  be  sure  I  shall  help  you  in  every  way  I 
can.  Do  not  be  frightened  over  a  temperance  pro- 
gram. There  are  many  things  you  can  do.  But  you 
ask  about  our  work-books,  so  let  me  tell  you  about 
them  first.  At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Junior  confer- 
ence we  decided  to  devise  some  plan  to  encourage  the 
children  to  complete  their  work-books  promptly  at  the 
close  of  each  quarter.  We  finally  worked  out  a  plan 
for  a  celebration  to  be  known  as  a  '  Junior  Jollifica- 
tion.' 

"  The  following  notice,  printed  in  our  church  bul- 
letin, notified  the  boys  and  girls  as  well  as  the  parents 
of  the  coming  event,  of  the  occasion  of  it,  and  of  their 
obligation  if  they  wished  to  attend :  *  Junior  Jollifica- 
tion. Date,  Friday,  June  29.  Time,  11  a.  m.  Place, 
at  the  church.  Refreshments,  individual  lunch-box. 
Admission  fee,  completed  work-book.  Games.  Con- 
tests. Stories.  This  jollification  is  for  the  boys  and 
girls  of  the  Junior  Department  of  this  Sunday  school, 
celebrating  the  completion  of  our  third  quarter's  work. 
Each  Junior's  work-book,  finished  to  date,  will  be  his 
admission  fee  at  the  church,  where  the  jollification  be- 
gins, at  11  o'clock  sharp.     Each  child  will  bring  his 


The  Small  Department 


own  lunch  and  cup.'  This  notice  was  attractively 
displayed  with  differences  in  sizes  of  type. 

"  Suitable  posters  were  given  prominent  places  in 
the  Junior  room,  and  created  great  interest  in  the  com- 
ing jollification.  At  the  appointed  time  the  Juniors 
began  to  arrive.  Books  were  received  at  the  door  of 
the  Junior  room  by  a  committee  of  teachers.  Nearly 
all  of  the  Juniors  were  present.  I  noticed,  however, 
that  James  and  William  were  missing.  I  inquired, 
and  one  of  the  boys  said,  *  Oh,  yes,  they  are  coming.  I 
just  came  past  Red's  house,  and  Shorty  was  there,  and 
they  are  working  like  mad  to  finish  their  books.' 

"  We  learned  some  appropriate  *  yells  '  for  the  occa- 
sion. We  then  formed  in  double  file  and  marched 
with  fife  and  drum  to  the  park.  Luncheon  was  the 
first  thing  on  the  program.  As  a  surprise,  the  teach- 
ers provided  plenty  of  lemonade  for  the  crowd. 

"  The  half  hour  after  lunch  was  spent  in  story-tell- 
ing by  the  teachers.  Then  Mr.  White  arrived,  and 
under  his  direction  the  children  enjoyed  a  wonderful 
afternoon  of  contests,  races,  and  outdoor  games. 

"  Now,  I  imagine  I  hear  you  say,  '  Was  the  jollifica- 
tion worth  while?*  I  answer  'Yes.'  Socially  it  was 
a  great  success,  and  also  we  accomplished  what  we 
wanted.  We  got  the  note-books.  But  I  am  not  satis- 
fied with  that  way  of  doing  things.  In  the  public 
schools,  if  a  boy  or  girl  does  not  do  the  required  work, 
he  fails  to  pass.  Why  can't  we  expect  as  much  of 
them  in  the  Sunday  school?  If  I  live  long  enough,  I 
expect  to  place  the  Sunday  school,  in  the  mind  of  the 
Junior,  on  just  as  important  a  basis  as  the  public 
school.     I  think  it  can  be  done. 


96  Our  Junior  Department 


A  TEMPERANCE  PROGRAM 

"  Now  for  that  temperance  material.  I  like  this 
definition,  and  so  send  it  to  you :  '  Temperance  is  total 
abstinence  from  all  things  harmful  and  the  moderate 
use  of  all  things  good.' — ZenopJwn. 

"  First,  I  shall  give  you  some  of  God's  commands. 

*  Abhor  that  which  is  evil ;  cleave  to  that  which  is 
good.'  (Rom.  12  :  9.)  *  Be  not  overcome  of  evil,  but 
overcome  evil  with  good'  (Rom.  12  :  21).  'Set  a 
watch,  O  God,  before  my  mouth'  (Ps.  141  :  3).  'If 
sinners  entice  thee,  consent  thou  not'  (Prov.  1  :  10). 

*  Evil  companionships  corrupt  good  morals  '  (1  Cor. 
15  :  33). 

"  Other  good  temperance  verses  are  Daniel  1  :  8, 
Romans  13  :  10,  and  Philippians  4  :  8.  Your  Juniors 
could  give  several  of  these  as  memory  verses  or  could 
use  one  verse  in  concert  as  the  Scripture  lesson.  If 
one  of  the  boys  would  hold  the  temperance  flag,  the 
rest  of  the  Juniors  could  salute  it. 

"  You  know  the  following  flag  salute :  *  I  pledge 
allegiance  to  my  flag,  the  emblem  of  temperance,  self- 
control,  pure  thoughts,  and  clean  habits ;  the  white 
flag  that  surrenders  to  nothing  but  purity  and  truth 
and  to  none  but  God,  whose  temples  we  are.' 

"  You  could  have  one  of  the  Juniors  tell  a  temper- 
ance story  or  relate  some  of  the  famous  deeds  of 
Frances  E.  Willard  or  Neal  Dow,  or  of  any  temperance 
hero  or  heroine.  Offer  a  prayer  for  the  temperance 
cause,  and,  if  you  have  time,  sing  a  temperance  song. 
A  good  temperance  poster  would  be  interesting  to  the 
adults  as  well  as  the  Juniors. 


The  Small  Department  97 

*'  Here  is  the  verse  you  ask  for. 

If  you  would  a  scholar  attempt  to  teach, 
Study  his  habits,  nature,  and  speech. 
Make  him  tell  you  all  he  can. 
From  this  knowledge  form  your  plan. 
Begin  with  that  which  he  does  know ; 
Tell  him  little,  and  tell  that  slow. 
Use  words  that  he  will  know  and  feel; 
Review,  call  back,  draw  out  at  will. 
Consult  his  tastes,  help  him  to  climb; 
Keep  him  working  all  the  time. 
Be  true,  be  gentle;  love  is  strong; 
Look  to  Jesus,  you'll  not  go  wrong, 

"  I  shall  try  to  send  you  some  materials  that  I  think 
you  can  use.  Keep  me  informed  as  to  your  work.  I 
am  greatly  interested  in  what  you  are  doing.  Sin- 
cerely, your  friend  and  coworker,  Mrs.  Richards." 

Criticism  and  Discussion 

1.  Did  you  ever  see  that  little  Sunday  school  with 
its  "  twelve  Juniors  "  ?  If  you  did,  perhaps  you  won- 
dered why  there  were  as  many  as  twelve,  when  so 
little  was  going  on  that  was  of  real  interest  and  value 
to  them.  If  you  had  raised  the  question  of  better 
treatment  for  the  Juniors,  probably  the  general  super- 
intendent would  have  said,  "  It  is  the  best  we  can  do 
here."  But  that  would  not  have  been  true.  He  only 
thought  so. 

2.  The  story  of  this  new-comer  in  the  community, 
willing  to  act  as  supply  teacher,  and  making  good  at 
the  task,  and  the  results  of  this  expression  of  the  spirit 
of  service,  is  a  very  suggestive  experience.     Here  is 

G 


98  Our  Junior  Department 

vividly  illustrated  the  principle  of  progress  in  kingdom 
activity  and  the  method  of  improvement  in  personal 
efficiency.  It  is  the  obscure  worker  who  performs  the 
little  task  willingly  and  efficiently  that  rises  to  use- 
fulness and  prominence  in  the  world  of  spiritual 
achievement. 

3.  Here  also  is  a  valuable  suggestion  for  the  workers 
in  the  little  Sunday  school,  where  there  are  all  too  few 
competent  leaders.  Be  on  the^  lookout  for  the  new- 
comer. It  was  not  merely  that  Miss  Blackwell  had 
had  some  training  and  therefore  was  better  qualified 
than  those  who  were  already  working  in  this  little 
Sunday  school,  but  the  very  fact  that  she  was  new  in 
the  community  and  that  this  was  her  first  day  in  that 
Sunday  school  enabled  her  to  see  some  things  which 
the  others  could  not  see,  on  the  principle  that  one  can 
never  see  himself  as  others  see  him.  Those  who  have 
been  working  in  the  same  place  for  several  years  are 
likely  to  become  so  accustomed  to  the  conditions  as 
they  exist  and  to  the  established  ways  of  working 
that  they  become  blind  to  their  defects  and  needs. 

4.  Therefore,  is  there  not  here  a  further  suggestion  ? 
It  would  be  the  part  of  wisdom  if  all  Junior  workers 
in  any  Junior  Department  would  deliberately  invite 
occasionally  a  successful  worker  in  some  other  Sunday 
school  to  visit  them  with  a  view  to  giving  construc- 
tive criticism.  This  ought  to  be  worth  as  much  to  a 
Junior  Department  as  the  diagnosis  of  a  specialist 
would  be  to  a  patient  or  the  work  of  an  efficiency  ex- 
pert in  a  business  enterprise. 

5.  Note  here,  too,  that  the  Juniors  themselves,  under 
the  leadership  of  Miss  Blackwell,  provided  the  needed 


The  Small  Department  99 

equipment  in  the  little  school.  This  was  not  only  a 
good  way  to  get  the  equipment,  but  it  was  a  good  way 
to  enlist  the  Juniors.  It  was  a  good  method  in  re- 
ligious education. 

6.  What  do  you  think  of  that  "  Junior  Jollification  "  ? 
Perhaps  you  can  think  of  something  better.  The  chief 
reason  for  knowing  how  others  have  succeeded  with 
their  methods  is  that  it  will  be  suggestive  to  you  of 
some  better  methods.  To  read  of  the  good  methods 
of  others,  or  to  hear  about  them,  sets  your  "  head 
a-going,"  and  presently  you  have  evolved  the  solution 
of  a  problem  and  the  means  to  a  worthy  end. 

7.  Another  way  to  teach  temperance  is  through  the 
teaching-story.  A  good  temperance  story,  told  dra- 
matically, shows  temperance  in  action.  It  develops  in 
the  listener  a  sense  of  reality  and  of  value,  and  at  the 
same  time  influences  his  will  and  motivates  his  actions. 
He  is  likely  to  accept  as  his  own  the  standards  of 
action  which  are  visualized  for  him  in  the  story. 

8.  See  Chapter  XX,  The  Celebration  of  Special 
Days,  in  ''  The  Junior  Worker  and  Work."  See  Chap- 
ter VII,  Temperance  Education,  in  "  The  Juniors : 
How  to  Teach  and  Train  Them."  See  Chapter  III, 
Organization,  in  "  The  Juniors :  How  to  Teach  and 
Train  Them."  Read  especially  Chapter  VIII,  Motiva- 
tion, in  "  The  Use  of  Projects  in  Religious  Education." 


CHAPTER  X 
JUNIOR  ROOMS  AND  EQUIPMENT 

One  bright,  sunshiny  day  in  early  spring  Mrs.  Rich- 
ards was  standing  near  the  door  of  the  Junior  room, 
when  she  was  surprised  to  see  a  young  lady  entering 
the  room  whom  she  recognized  as  one  of  her  former 
workers,  and  she  exclaimed  :  "  Marie  Blackwell !  How 
happy  I  am  to  see  our  little  organist  again!  When 
did  you  come  back  ?  Just  think,  it  has  been  three  long 
years  since  you  moved  away." 

"  Yes,  Mrs.  Richards,  three  long  years,  and  when 
father  said  he  was  coming  here  on  a  business  trip,  I 
decided  to  come  too.  We  arrived  late  last  evening, 
and  this  morning  my  aunt  insisted  I  rest  after  our  long 
journey,  but  I  was  too  homesick  to  visit  our  old  church 
home  to  wait,  and  I  came  a  half-hour  early  to  talk 
with  you  before  Sunday  school.'* 

THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 

"That's  fine,"  said  Mrs.  Richards.  "But,"  said 
Miss  Blackwell,  "  it  isn't  a  bit  like  home,  with  this 
beautiful  stone  church  on  the  corner,  where  the  little 
white  frame  one  stood  so  many  years.  I  thought  I 
never  would  find  you.  I  came  up  the  steps  to  the 
front  door  and  inquired  for  the  Junior  Department, 
and  a  young  man  said,  *  The  next  building  is  the  edu- 
100 


Junior  Rooms  and  Equipment  101 

cational  building^.  Just  go  in  at  the  main  entrance  and 
up  the  stairway  to  the  second  floor,  and  the  first  door 
to  the  left  is  the  entrance  to  the  Junior  assembly-room/ 
So  here  I  am." 

*'  We  are  proud  of  our  new  church,"  said  Mrs.  Rich- 
ards. "  Let  me  show  you  around  before  Sunday 
school  begins.  On  either  side  of  the  assembly-room, 
you  see,  are  the  classrooms,  one  for  each  class." 

"  Oh,  how  perfectly  fine !  Sound-proof  walls  for  as- 
sembly-room and  for  classrooms,  with  doors  on  hinges 
to  close  tight.  You  have  complete  separation  for  your 
assembly-programs  and  also  for  all  the  class  work." 
"  We  are  delighted  with  our  rooms,"  said  Mrs.  Rich- 
ards. "  This  is  Miss  Morris'  classroom.  Just  step 
inside." 

"  Oh,"  said  Miss  Blackwell,  "  how  beautifully  this 
classroom  is  furnished.  But  is  there  no  table?" 
"  No,"  said  Mrs.  Richards,  "  we  use  the  student-chairs 
with  the  desk-arm  instead.  In  this  little  cabinet  the 
class  can  keep  books,  pictures,  chalk  and  eraser,  and 
other  materials.     Isn't  it  convenient?" 

"  It  certainly  is,"  said  Miss  Blackwell.  "  I  am  in- 
terested in  this  handwork  they  have  on  display.  Miss 
Morris  used  to  have  such  a  time  about  the  handwork. 
Her  girls  were  continually  losing  their  books." 

"  Yes,  I  remember.  But  she  attended  the  com- 
munity training-school,  and  she  has  learned  how  to 
get  the  handwork  done.  She  is  now  one  of  our  best 
teachers.  All  the  boys  and  girls  are  doing  much  better 
work  since  we  began  grading  their  work.  I  grade  all 
the  books  in  the  department,  and  keep  a  record  of  the 
grades.     The  children  are   as   interested   in   securing 


102  Our  Junior  Department 

good  grades  in  Sunday  school  as  in  public  school.  I 
want  you  to  visit  Mr.  Wayne  Taylor's  classroom,  just 
opposite  this  one." 

ROOM  FOR  MAPS  AND  MODELS 

"My!"  said  Miss  Blackwell.  "Just  look  at  the 
models  they  have  on  display.  There  is  an  Oriental 
house,  a  shepherd's  crook,  and  a  sheepfold.  Ah  !  The 
sword  of  Gideon,  isn't  it?  " 

"  Yes.  What  splendid  maps  the  boys  have  made.'* 
"  Yes,  I  think  each  one  in  this  class  received  an  *  E ' 
on  the  work  of  last  quarter.  They  had  a  beautiful 
sepia  print  of  '  Christ  and  the  Doctors,'  but  they  lent 
it  to  the  second-year  boys  for  this  quarter,  while  they 
have  their  water-color  maps  on  display  here.  Now  we 
will  visit  the  geography  room." 

"  Oh,  what  a  pleasure  it  would  be  to  teach  in  this 
room!  But  how  do  you  manage?"  "The  teachers 
use  this  room  for  drill-work  mostly.  Sometimes  they 
make  a  map  on  the  sand-table.  Sometimes  they 
use  large  maps  and  charts  on  the  wall  or  the  globe  on 
the  table  over  there.  They  use  it  very  often  in  the 
pre-session  period,  when  the  class  meets  early  Sunday 
morning  for  a  little  help  on  maps  or  handwork.  It  is 
such  a  great  convenience  too,  for  the  week-day  meet- 
ing of  the  class,  when  they  want  to  make  relief-maps 
from  paper-pulp  or  the  salt-and-starch  dough." 

When  they  again  stepped  out  into  the  assembly- 
room.  Miss  Blackwell  said,  "  What  beautiful  decorat- 
ing. I  like  the  effect  of  the  soft  tones  in  the  wall- 
paper."    "  Have  you  noticed  the  cork  covering  on  the 


Junior  Rooms  and  Equipment  103 

floor,  Miss  Blackwell?"  "Indeed  I  have,  and  my 
mind  goes  back  to  five  years  ago.  The  first  morning 
you  came  into  our  Junior  Department,  wasn't  it  ter- 
rible, the  noise  and  confusion  of  that  morning?" 

PICTURES  AND  BOOKS 

"  I  wish  I  might  forget  those  days.  How  I  have 
worked,  and  how  much  I  have  learned  since  then." 
"  There  certainly  has  been  a  wonderful  change  in  this 
department.  I  see  you  have  only  one  picture  on  the 
wall,  but  it  is  beautiful.  The  picture  of  *  Christ  and 
the  Rich  Young  Ruler '  is  quite  suitable  for  this 
Junior  age,  I  think." 

"  Yes,  we  think  it  is.  We  have  several  other  pic- 
tures. We  have  one  of  '  Christ  and  the  Doctors '  and 
another  of  '  Moses  With  the  Tables  of  the  Law,'  but 
we  seldom  have  more  than  one  on  display  at  a  time. 
Sometimes  we  put  them  all  away,  and  hang  a  poster 
in  their  place  for  a  few  weeks.  This  increases  the 
teaching  value  of  the  pictures. 

"  That  is  our  assistant  secretary  over  there  by  the 
bulletin-board  that  stands  near  the  door.  She  is  put- 
ting up  the  birthday  calendar  for  this  month.  Just 
watch  for  a  moment,  and  see  the  boys  and  girls 
gather  around  it.  They  are  always  proud  of  the 
calendar  in  the  month  their  names  appear.  On  the  last 
day  of  the  month  those  who  have  birthdays  during  the 
month  bring  their  birthday-money.  They  know  it 
will  be  used  for  missions." 

"  Isn't  that  Miss  Stone  coming  out  of  that  classroom 
with   all   those   little   boys,   Mrs.    Richards?"     "Yes, 


104  Our  Junior  Department 

they  are  going  to  give  a  dramatization  in  the  opening 
service  this  morning,  and  they  came  a  little  early  in 
order  to  rehearse.  She  is  specializing  in  first-year 
Junior  w^ork,  and  is  making  quite  a  name  for  herself. 
She  has  been  invited  to  speak  on  her  vi^ork  in  several 
conferences  recently." 

"  Even  a  little  training  will  do  much  for  a  teacher.  I 
thought  she  v^as  simply  hopeless  when  I  was  here." 
"  Yes,  training  makes  a  great  difference  in  the  work  of 
a  teacher.  And  you  remember  Miss  Moore?  She  is 
preparing  herself  to  teach  in  the  week-day  school  of 
religious  education."  ''  Indeed  !  I  am  so  glad  to  know 
all  this." 

"Will  you  visit  with  Miss  Stone  now?  I  must 
speak  to  the  librarian  before  Sunday  school  begins. 
We  have  several  new  books,  and  Mr.  Taylor  spoke  to 
me  about  one  which  I  promised  to  save  for  him.  We 
have  a  good  list  of  books  for  the  Junior  workers  now." 

After  chatting  a  moment  with  Miss  Stone,  Miss 
Blackwell  noticed  that  the  boys  and  girls,  with  their 
teachers,  were  taking  their  places  in  the  Junior  assem- 
bly-room, and,  when  a  young  lady  played  a  few  soft 
chords  of  music,  Mrs.  Richards  stepped  upon  the  plat- 
form and  said,  "  The  first-year  boys  will  dramatize  a 
story  for  us  at  this  time." 

REALIZING  THE  IDEAL 

Following  this  dramatization,  a  song  was  sung  by 
the  department,  and  a  prayer  was  offered  by  Mrs. 
Richards.  The  classes  then  passed  in  an  orderly  way 
to  the  classrooms. 


Junior  Rooms  and  Equipment  105 

During  the  class-period  Mrs,  Richards  took  Miss 
Blackwell  to  visit  the  other  departments  of  the  Sunday 
school.  When  they  returned,  Miss  Blackwell  said, 
"  You  have  a  wonderful  Sunday  school  now,  Mrs. 
Richards,  and  I  think  your  department  is  ideal." 

"  Well,"  said  Mrs.  Richards,  "  I  do  not  think  of  it  as 
being  ideal,  but  we  are  working  toward  the  ideal  all 
the  time.  We  feel  that  we  have  accomplished  some- 
thing worth  while  through  our  planning  and  working, 
and  our  praying.  It  is  my  hope  that  we  can  so  utilize 
this  beautiful  building  with  all  its  fine  equipment,  and 
these  trained  teachers  and  officers,  that  all  our  pupils 
may  become  true  Christians  and  trained,  efficient 
church-members.     Then  my  ideal  will  be  realized." 

A  visitor  who  was  being  shown  through  the  Junior 
rooms  one  day  inquired :  *'  But  how  can  you  afford  so 
many  rooms?  We  think  we  are  lucky  at  our  church 
to  have  one  room  for  the  whole  Junior  Department." 

"  Why,"  answered  Mrs.  Richards,  "  it  costs  but  very 
little  more  to  have  classrooms  and  an  assembly-room 
than  it  does  to  have  only  the  one  assembly-room  for 
the  Junior  Department  without  classrooms." 

"  I  don't  see  how  that  could  be,"  replied  the  visitor. 
"  Let  me  show  you,"  said  Mrs.  Richards,  stepping  to 
the  blackboard  and  picking  up  a  piece  of  crayon.  It 
requires  no  more  floor-space  to  care  for  a  given  num- 
ber of  students  in  a  department  with  individual  class- 
rooms and  assembly-room  than  with  assembly-room 
alone.  Explanation  of  this  fact  lies  in  the  further 
fact  that  each  student  requires  only  six  square  feet  for 
assembly  purposes  and  only  nine  square  feet  for  class- 
room purposes.     The  six  square  feet  for  assembly  and 


106  Our  Junior  Department 

the  nine  square  feet  for  class  together  make  the  fifteen 
square  feet  required  for  each  Junior  when  all  the  stu- 
dents of  the  department  are  handled  in  the  one  large 
room. 

"  In  other  words,  when  the  classes  of  the  depart- 
ment are  assembled  in  class  around  tables  or  in  desk- 
chairs,  in  the  one  room  without  partitions,  there  must 
be  left,  between  class  and  classes,  room  for  the  free 
movement  of  workers  and  students,  and  also  there 
must  be  sufficient  floor-space  between  class  and  classes 
to  make  possible  a  fair  degree  of  removal  of  class 
noises  from  class  noises. 

"  Now,  when  each  class  is  assembled  in  an  indi- 
vidual classroom,  a  student  may  be  seated  with  his 
back  against  a  wall,  with  another  student  in  another 
class  having  his  back  to  the  same  wall,  and  also  there 
is  no  occasion  for  the  moving  about  in  the  classroom 
of  anybody  outside  the  class. 

"  Thus  nine  square  feet  is  all  that  is  needed  by  each 
student  in  an  individual  classroom,  but  the  same  stu- 
dent needs  fifteen  square  feet  when  his  class  is  in  the 
large  room  with  other  classes.  And  for  assembly  pur- 
poses, during  the  departmental  order  of  worship  in 
the  departmental  assembly-room,  there  is  needed  a 
little  less  space  than  in  the  large  church  auditorium,  so 
that  six  square  feet  for  each  student  is  quite  sufficient." 

Criticism  and  Discussion 

1.  Have  you  the  rooms  and  equipment  that  you  need 
for  your  Junior  Department?  If  not,  why  not?  Why 
not  bring  up  the  matter  in  your  officers'  conference, 
and  begin  to  take  steps  for  getting  what  you  need? 


Junior  Rooms  and  Equipment  107 

Frequently  all  that  is  needed  is  for  someone  who  is 
vitally  interested  to  make  the  start  and  to  get  the 
leaders  to  thinking  and  talking. 

2.  As  to  equipment  for  the  Junior  assembly-room, 
sometimes  an  interested  parent  will  provide  the  means. 
I  knew  the  mother  of  a  Junior  who  presented  to  the 
Junior  Department  a  fifty-dollar  teaching-picture,  and 
the  superintendent  of  the  department  arranged  a  little 
acceptance  service,  which  was  quite  impressive  and 
helpful. 

3.  In  the  Junior  assembly-room  there  should  be  the 
following:  A  rug  or  battleship  linoleum,  chairs  of  two 
heights,  piano,  flat-top  desk  for  the  superintendent, 
blackboard,  maps,  teaching-pictures,  Junior  mottoes, 
graded  song-books,  honor-roll,  bulletin-board,  refer- 
ence library,  stereographs,  and  cabinets  for  curios  and 
supplies. 

4.  In  each  Junior  classroom  there  should  be  the  fol- 
lowing: A  rug,  round  table  and  chairs,  or  preferably 
desk-chairs,  a  blackboard,  teaching-pictures  and  post- 
ers, maps  and  handwork  materials. 

5.  The  departmental  unit  should  be  used  for  all 
week-day  teaching  and  club  activities,  as  well  as  for 
the  Sunday  instruction,  for  the  students  of  this  age, 
but  should  not  be  used  for  any  meetings  of  adults, 
since  it  is  not  suitable  in  its  proportions,  its  finishings, 
or  its  furnishings. 

6.  In  Tralle's  "  Planning  Church  Buildings  "  there 
is  the  following  statement  concerning  the  Junior  De- 
partment :  "  Probably  there  are  more  reasons  for  both 
departmental  and  class  separation  in  this  department 
than  in  any  other,  for  the  reason  that  these  boys  and 


108  Our  Junior  Department 

girls  are  in  the  '  noisy  '  age,  the  *  do-and-dare  '  age,  the 
'  see-everything-that-is-going-on-around  '  age." 

7.  Every  Junior  worker  should  read  Tralle's  "  Plan- 
ning Church  Buildings,"  which  gives  practical  help 
Avith  regard  to  building  and  equipment.  Where  there 
exists  the  need  for  more  adequate  building  and  equip- 
ment, it  would  be  the  part  of  wisdom  to  get  the  leaders 
of  the  church  to  read  this  book,  in  order  that  they  may 
come  to  have  some  appreciation  of  the  importance  of 
properly  building  for  the  school  of  the  church,  and  of 
providing  for  it  adequate  equipment. 

8.  When  the  church  is  planning  to  build  a  new 
structure  or  to  remodel  an  old  one,  the  Junior  leaders 
should  see  to  it  that  the  Juniors  are  properly  provided 
for.  It  cannot  be  presumed  that  the  average  building 
committee  has  educational  training  enough  properly 
to  provide  the  necessary  building  and  equipment.  The 
Junior  superintendent,  therefore,  should  insist  on  rep- 
resentation on  the  committee  and  on  a  hearing  for  the 
presentation  of  needs  and  ideals.  It  may  be  practica- 
ble to  call  in  the  assistance  of  an  educational  or  archi- 
tectural specialist.  Consult  your  denominational 
department  of  architecture. 


Date  Due 

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